GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM AIRCRAFT – EPA POISED TO ACT?
October 11, 2014
This month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a paper to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that details its plans to address greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. In it, the EPA announced that it would comply with a recent D.C. District Court ruling ordering the agency to make a formal determination under the Clean Air Act on whether greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft cause or contribute to air pollution that may be reasonably anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. If a positive endangerment and cause or contribute findings are made, EPA will be obligated by the terms of the Clean Air Act to set GHG emission standards for aircraft.
According to the paper, the EPA’s endangerment findings proposal will be based on its 2009 findings for on-road vehicles and will rely on previous peer-reviewed science from the U.S. Global Change Research Program, National Research Council, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (IPCC), along with updated reports from the same major climate change assessments. At the same time as it releases its proposed findings, EPA will issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) providing an overview of ICAO/CAEP efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, if EPA makes a positive finding regarding aircraft emissions, the potential use of ICAO standards to guide U.S. regulation.
EPA projects that it will release its aircraft emissions ANPRM in April, 2015.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).