NOTE: Emission "cap and trade" programs allow utility companies, factories and other polluters to legally continue spewing toxic pollutants without paying for the damage being done to innocent victims.
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EPA proposes Emissions Trading Plan to Cut Smog

 April 29, 1998

The Environmental Protection Agency released its plan for utilities and industries to trade allowances to emit pollution in an effort to cut smog in eastern states.

With the emissions "cap and trade" program, the EPA said most areas of 22 eastern states and the District of Columbia would be able to meet air quality standards without more pollution controls.

The plan would allow the 22 states to establish a cap on emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx), then give power plants and industries flexibility to find ways to cut NOx emissions.

Power plants and industries that reduced emissions below the caps could sell credits to facilities that could not cut emissions as quickly or cost-effectively.

"The emissions trading program we are proposing today provides great flexibility for how industrial sources can reduce air pollution both in their communities and in ‘downwind’ states", EPA Administrator Carol Browner said in a statement.

"It is part of a regional strategy that will enable eastern states to meet EPA’s new health standards for smog in most areas with no need for additional controls", Browner said.

The plan is modeled on an emissions trading program to cut power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, which causes damaging acid rain.

The emissions trading plan stemmed from the EPA’s proposal last fall that 22 states located mostly east of the Mississippi River reduce air pollution that crosses their boundaries, and eventually blows into the East.

The overall strategy is intended to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 35 percent from states that contribute to smog problems in the East.

Five states—Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and West Virginia—were targeted for cuts of 40 percent or more. Those are among the states that are heavy users of coal-fired power plants, which the EPA has branded as major polluters.

In a news conference last fall on the regional pollution strategy, Browner said power plants were the easiest and cheapest place to make cuts because they avoided many of the pollution controls forced on other industries.

For example, she said power plants could cut NOx emissions for as little as $1,700 per ton, while more cuts from cars would cost $3,100 per ton.

The EPA’s plan to fight transported pollution has sparked an interstate conflict, with Midwestern and southern states saying they would be forced to impose controls in areas that meet air quality standards, while eastern states say they cannot possibly meet standards with pollution blowing into their region.

Last month, Ohio and West Virginia congressmen said they would push legislation to delay the regional air pollution rule and give coal-burning utilities more time to try and cut their emissions.

Smog is the biggest air pollutant in the United States. It aggravates asthma, reduces lung capacity and makes crops more susceptible to pests and disease.