Tuesday, January 30, 2007           GO THERE

The Legal Bases For, and History Behind, Federal Residual Risk Requirements and the Relationship to State Air Toxics Programs
Alan McConnell
Kilpatrick Stockton

The 1990 Amendments to the federal Clean Air Act took a new approach to the regulation of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) when Congress changed the Act to require the installation of existing control technologies to reduce HAP emissions (identified in the Act) from new and existing sources of emissions (also identified in the Act). This change in regulatory approach was in stark contrast to the prior HAP control requirements under the Act that required EPA to, on its own, identify HAPs of concern and sources of those HAPs. Once EPA identified the HAPs and sources it planned to regulate, EPA was required to control emissions to a level to "protect human health."

This discussion will address this change in the Act, and how the "residual risk" standard came into being in 1990 as an artifact of the pre-1990 Clean Air Act. This discussion will also cover the legal requirements that must be met by a residual risk standard, and how these standards relate to state air toxics control programs.

Preview of Residual Risk Potential Impact for Manufacturers
W. Dean Kaiser
QEP Stratus Environmental Solutions

Mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, EPA's Residual Risk Program evaluates and proposes possible control for health and environmental risk remaining after implementation of MACT standards. The Residual Risk Program is implemented separately for each MACT source category, and the recently proposed Hazardous Organic NESHAP (HON) program indicates the direction EPA may take with other source categories.

This discussion will review EPA's approach to residual risk assessment, including risk characterization and the determination of additional steps to mitigate residual risk. Using the HON as a template, we will focus on the Wood Furniture Finishing MACT and the Boiler MACT to discuss how residual risk characterization and additional regulation could possibly unfold for furniture manufacturers. We will also discuss legislated compliance schedules, actual progress, and projected compliance dates for furniture manufacturers. Finally, we will provide you with the tools necessary to track progress of Residual Risk Program implementation for your source categories, including avenues to evaluate and comment on any proposed legislation.