Concurrent NAAQS Guidance and Implementation Rules

Summary#

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish final implementing regulations and guidance at the same time it issues any final national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). If EPA does not publish that guidance and regulations at the same time, the new or revised standard cannot be applied when reviewing preconstruction permit applications (permits needed to build or modify stationary sources) until the guidance and regulations are published. The bill also gives a special grandfathering rule for the 2024 primary annual PM2.5 standard so that many pending permits would not be subject to that standard.

• Main change: EPA must publish final implementation rules and guidance concurrently with any final NAAQS.
• If EPA fails to do so: the new NAAQS does not apply to preconstruction permit reviews until EPA publishes the required guidance and rules.
• Specific to 2024 PM2.5 standard: that standard will not apply to permit reviews for applications that were complete before EPA’s final area designations, or for which a permitting authority issued a preliminary determination or draft permit within 60 days after final area designation.
• Keeps existing controls: applicants still must install best available control technology (BACT) or lowest achievable emission rate (LAER) where those requirements apply.
• States, local, and Tribal authorities may still impose stricter limits under their own laws.

What it means for you#

• Permit applicants (industry, builders, plant owners):

  • If EPA does not publish guidance with a new NAAQS, the new standard cannot be used by permitting authorities when they review your application until the guidance is published.
  • For the 2024 PM2.5 standard, your application may be protected from that standard if it was complete before EPA finished designating areas, or if a preliminary determination or draft permit was publicly posted within 60 days after designation.
  • You still may have to install required controls like BACT or LAER as part of your permit.

• State, local, and Tribal permitting authorities:

  • Must rely on EPA’s guidance and regulations to implement new NAAQS when those are published concurrently.
  • If EPA fails to publish, the permitting authority may not apply the new standard to permit decisions until EPA publishes its guidance.
  • May still set stricter limits under state, local, or Tribal law.

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

  • Must prepare and publish final implementing regulations and guidance at the same time it issues a final NAAQS.
  • Faces a timing requirement that could change how it schedules rule writing and guidance documents.

• Communities and the public:

  • The timing rule could delay the application of a new air-quality standard to some construction permits while awaiting EPA’s guidance.
  • The bill does not change other permit-related requirements or BACT/LAER obligations.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

• Possible fiscal effects (not quantified in the bill text):
  • EPA may face increased administrative or staffing costs to prepare guidance and implementing rules at the same time it finalizes a standard.
  • State, local, and Tribal permitting offices might face costs or savings depending on whether the rule changes their workload (for example, fewer permit re-reviews if a standard is not applied).
  • Permit applicants could see reduced near-term compliance costs if a new standard is not applied to their pending permits.

Proponents' View#

The bill appears intended to reduce uncertainty and administrative disruption when EPA issues a new or revised air quality standard.

• The bill appears intended to ensure that States, permitting authorities, and applicants have clear implementing rules and guidance at the same time a new standard is finalized.
• This could be seen as preventing situations where permit reviews must apply a new, but not-yet-explained, standard.
• The grandfathering for the 2024 PM2.5 standard appears intended to protect ongoing permit reviews from being changed after they are already underway.

Opponents' View#

The bill could delay application of new air-quality protections and raise implementation questions.

• One concern is that delaying application of a new standard to permit reviews (if EPA does not publish guidance concurrently) may postpone health protections that the NAAQS is intended to provide.
• The 2024 PM2.5 grandfathering could mean many permits escape review under the updated standard, which may reduce the immediate impact of a stricter standard.
• It is unclear how detailed EPA’s required guidance must be, which may lead to legal disputes over whether EPA met the concurrent-publication requirement.
• The requirement may pressure EPA to produce guidance quickly, possibly increasing costs or affecting the thoroughness of guidance documents.