As polluting utilities were preparing to fight a broadEnvironmental Protection Agency emissions-reduction edict issuedlast week, they were hit with an appeals court decision upholdingan earlier EPA order on the same subject – nitrogen oxide (NOx)emissions.

The Natural Gas Supply Assoc. hailed the decision by theDistrict of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals decision as a majorwin for the gas industry. “This decision is one of those times whenthe angels win and when good law translates into good policy,” saidnew NGSA President Skip Horvath. NGSA had been an intervenor in thecase in support of EPA’s new rules setting NOx emission limits fornew facilities that are the same for all fuels. “Natural gas winswith this scenario because combustion of natural gas results insubstantially lower NOx emissions,” said Rhone Resch, NGSA directorof environmental affairs…..it sets a precedent within EPA topromulgate more fuel-neutral output-based standards in the future.”

The EPA rule had been challenged by the Lignite Energy Council.The court ruled, however, that EPA had not exceeded its authorityin promulgating the new standard (No. 98-1525).

The latest EPA action Dec. 17 granted petitions for relief fromfour states, ordering a NOx emissions crack-down on large powerplants and industrial sources at 392 facilities in 12 mid-Atlanticand Midwestern states and the District of Columbia. The petitioningstates were Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvaniawhich charged their citizens were harmed by pollutants waftingacross their borders. The targeted plants are in Delaware, Indiana,Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York,Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District ofColumbia. The facilities must implement new emission controls byMay 1, 2003, but some already are planning court challenges.

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