The Supreme Court permanently closed a loophole in the Clean Air Act on Monday by refusing to review a lower court decision.

The loophole, known as the “startup, shutdown and malfunction” exemption effectively allowed major industrial polluters to exceed emissions standards whenever they claimed that their equipment “malfunctioned.”

Community and environmental groups, represented by Earthjustice in this case against the Bush-era U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, succeeded in closing the loophole with a win in federal court in December 2008. Following the D.C. Circuit’s decision, EPA did not seek Supreme Court review, but American Chemistry Council and other major industry groups, which had intervened in the case, did.

“We’re pleased that the court has finally put an end to this litigation,” said Earthjustice attorney Jim Pew. “This air pollution exemption has caused terrible suffering in thousands of communities. No one disputes that it’s illegal. Under the Obama administration, EPA has already committed to rethink this loophole.”

The groups that brought the case, Sierra Club, Environmental Integrity Project, Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Coalition for a Safe Environment and Friends of Hudson said that vast quantities of excess toxic pollution are released into the atmosphere when refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial facilities exceed their emission standards as a result of alleged “malfunctions” as well as when operations startup and shutdown.

During these events, toxic emissions can skyrocket, severely degrading air quality. And some facilities evade clean air protections by claiming that they are in “startup, shutdown and malfunction” mode during much of their operating time.

The loophole’s potential for abuse was on full display on Sept. 25, 2009, when news outlets reported on a fire caused by a malfunction at the Tesoro Energy Corp’s Wilmington, California refinery. What most news reports don’t detail is the fact that the fire burned for more than 6 hours. That’s several hours of fumes emitted from a 100,000 barrel-per-day refinery. The refinery produces gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuels, petroleum coke and fuel oil.

Jesse Marquez, executive director for the Coalition for a Safe Environment, lives just three miles away from the Tesoro refinery. He was at the scene of the incident and said the malfunction began at 6 a.m. and for hours a noxious smell of crude oil and diesel fuel fumes filled the air. The refinery notified the elementary school a mile away of the fire but it did not inform residents. Not only did residents contend with poisonous emissions, the fire left soot on peoples’ cars and homes. The refinery eventually paid for the cost of cleaning homes and cars but did not reveal what public health risks occurred as a result of the hours-long exposure to these pollutants. Along with the Tesoro refinery, Wilmington–just four square miles–is home to the ConocoPhillips and Valero refineries.

“Almost every week a refinery has a malfunction and equipment break down and almost every year there is a fire,” said Marquez. “Each of these refineries exposes our children to hundreds of tons of toxic pollutants every year. I am pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision because we need strict rules to regulate refineries and they must be held accountable when their violations of emission standards put the public in harm’s way.”

“Hopefully as a result of this decision, companies will take responsibility for accidents that expose their neighbors to dangerous pollutants,” added Eric Schaeffer, director of Environmental Integrity Project. “The Clean Air Act doesn’t excuse ‘accidental’ pollution, and neither should the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS219404749220100310

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2010

Background: Yesterday, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Xcel Energy and a coalition of lawmakers, energy companies and environmentalists announced agreement on the proposed Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act legislation that will lead the nation in cutting air pollution, creating jobs and increasing the use of cleaner energy sources.

What will it take to get Utah to have the same vision and inventiveness? Clearly, this is a win-win situation for all parties involved.

WASHINGTON, March 6 /USNewswire/

“America’s Natural Gas Alliance applauds the extraordinary work spearheaded by Governor Ritter, policymakers, energy companies and environmentalists to sharply reduce air pollutants in Colorado by replacing older coal-fired power plants with facilities fueled by natural gas and other lower-emitting energy sources. This plan will not only improve Colorado’s environment, create jobs and boost the economy, but it will also serve as a model for other states and for our country.”

“Natural gas already plays a key role in Colorado’s clean-energy economy, serving as a low-carbon source of base-load electricity generation and supporting use of wind and solar. According to an IHS Global Insight study, natural gas supports 137,000 Colorado jobs and $18.3 billion in annual contributions to the state’s economy. Colorado has the third-largest reserves of natural gas and is the seventh-largest producer of natural gas in the nation.

“Natural gas is twice as clean as coal and abundant right here in America, where we have enough domestic supplies to power our nation for generations. This forward-thinking public-private collaboration makes clear that there are viable, commercial and meaningful clean-energy solutions that can be achieved very quickly, while also supporting economic growth.
“This is an historic decision for the state of Colorado and hopefully a new way of thinking for the rest of our nation.”

Following is the release from Gov. Bill Ritter:

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/

SAN FRANCISCO, March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

Today, a leading international organization has launched a new blog (http://airhugger.wordpress.com) to expose common fallacies about what is in the air we breathe and to call to task the corporations that threaten it. Positioning itself as common-sense voice for communities living next to industrial facilities, the Air Hugger is unique in the blog world.

In recent years, as rates of asthma and respiratory disease have increased, especially in children, air quality and related health issues have become a greater concern to the public. Global Community Monitor’s (GCM) new blog, “Air Hugger”, will feature not only timely and topical insights and information about air quality and its impact on human health, but also will expose major corporations whose efforts threaten clean, healthy air.

“While most people think the EPA and other environmental agencies closely monitor the air we breathe in our communities and schools, nothing could be further from the truth,” said Denny Larson, Executive Director of GCM. “Of the thousands of air toxics released by industrial facilities in the US, only six are measured. The rest, including cancer causing benzene, are not routinely monitored. And what few air pollution monitors are in place are intentionally located far from the pollution sources that create the greatest risk.”

Air Hugger is the latest education venture of Global Community Monitor, a group well known for inventing the revolutionary “Bucket Brigade” method of air testing that has reached scores of US and international communities. The air sampling buckets began as an outgrowth of work the group’s staff did with Erin Brockovich in response to a chemical spill.

Air Hugger’s first set of blog posts has targeted major corporations like BP, Shell, Chevron, Exxon and Bayer for ongoing air pollution problems and recalcitrant policies. The blog has also exposed Air Pollution control agencies for not equipping their enforcement staff with any kind of air monitoring device, other than their noses.

Air Hugger is also one of the leading voices for clean energy and climate change policies. As such the blog is tackling the controversial Canadian tar sands oil projects that threaten the pristine Boreal Forests and communities in the US, which are opposing refinery expansions and pipelines for the heavy crude oil.

SOURCE Global Community Monitor