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A Preview of Plenaryand Featured Sessions

em2005 annual conference & exhibition preview

PLENARY SESSIONS

Wednesday, June 22EP-1l: New Source Review Reform—TheRoad AheadSessions Chair(s): Bill Palermo, RTP Environmental Associates,and Ken Weiss, ERM

On December 31, 2002, the first of the long-awaited fed-eral New Source Review (NSR) Reform rules was promulgated.Now more than two years later, the rule has gone into effectin only a few states, and most states (i.e., state implementa-tion plan [SIP]-approved states) will be developing andimplementing their own NSR Reform rules in 2005, withthose rules going into effect in 2006 and later. Close followersof the NSR program know that much more remains to beaccomplished, since the December 2002 rule failed toaddress many of the subjects contained in the 1996 proposal.This plenary session will discuss what is going on at the federallevel, in the courts, and at the state level with respect to theNSR program. Panelists include William Wehrum, chief

counsel to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation; Leslie SueRitts, counsel to the National Environmental DevelopmentAssociation/Clean Air Regulatory Project (NEDA/CARP);Ann Seha, assistant commissioner with the Minnesota Pol-lution Control Agency; William Becker, executive directorof the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Adminis-trators Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials(STAPPA/ALAPCO; invited); and Eric Schaeffer, directorof the Environmental Integrity Project of the RockefellerFamily Fund (invited).

Thursday, June 23EP-1a: Ozone, Fine Particulate Matter, andRegional Haze Policy UpdateSession Chair(s): Peter Hess, Bay Area Air Quality Manage-ment District, and Jeff Muffatt, 3M

This plenary session will offer attendees a uniqueopportunity to learn about EPA’s new policies pertainingto ozone, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and regionalhaze from the principal architect of many of the programsto be discussed. This session is specifically designed formembers of the regulatory, regulated, and consultingcommunities. If you work in air pollution control, youshould not miss this session! Not only will participants beable to learn about the new policies from Lydia Wegman,director of EPA’s Air Quality Strategies and StandardsDivision, but they will also be able to ask her questions onissues that pertain to the application of the programs in aquestion-and-answer session to follow her presentation.Come to learn and participate in the dialog regardingPhase II ozone attainment and PM attainment guidance,Clean Air Interstate Rule, and other recently issued guid-ance documents or rules. This is a unique opportunity tolearn about the recent revisions to the National AmbientAir Quality Standards (NAAQS) and the development ofattainment strategies, policies, and implementation pro-grams, and how they may affect your region or industry.

EI-2c: Mercury and Power GenerationSession Chair(s): Paul Farber, Sargent & Lundy, and SharonSjostrom, ADA-ES

One of the more controversial topics in recent yearshas been the control of mercury from coal-fired powerplants. Discussions among the various stakeholders re-sulted in EPA issuing two options for the proposed rulefor mercury control: one that would regulate emissions

A Preview of Plenaryand Featured Sessions

The technical program for this year’s AnnualConference & Exhibition in Minneapolis, MN,June 21–24, 2005, has been carefully craftedto enhance the overall conference experiencefor attendees with specific interests, includingenvironmental managers, plant engineers, andregulatory specialists. As an additional benefit,several high-level plenary panels and featuredsessions have been incorporated into this year’sprogram. These sessions will include discus-sions on key regulatory, industrial, and environ-mental issues in the news. Below EM highlightssome of the standout plenary and featuredsessions scheduled for this year’s conference.For a complete list of sessions, see the prelimi-nary grid of technical sessions, starting on page36. For more information about the conferenceand to view abstracts of all of the tentativelyscheduled papers in this year’s technical program,visit the 2005 Annual Conference Web site atwww.awma.org/ACE2005.

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through Section 112 of theClean Air Act as a MaximumAchievable Control Technol-ogy (MACT) approach andone that would regulate emis-sions under Section 111 theNew Source PerformanceStandards (NSPS) as a cap-and-trade approach. Bothproposals have been heavilydebated in technical forums,the U.S. Congress, and thepress. By court order, EPA hasbeen mandated to release the

final form of the federal regulations by March 15, 2005,and several states are in the process of implementing regu-lations for mercury control. A distinguished group of pan-elists, representing the utility industry, regulatorycommunity, public interest groups, and research organi-zations has been assembled for this panel session to dis-cuss the effects of these regulations on the operation ofcoal-fired power plants. Because of the wide interest inthis issue and its complex nature, this session has beenseparated into a morning session that will address policyand regulations and an afternoon session that will addresstechnology and control.

FEATURED SESSIONS

Tuesday, June 21WM-1h: The Resource Conservation ChallengeSession Chair(s): Dan Mueller, Whitehead & Mueller

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)was formulated in 1980, and with it the phrase “fromcradle to grave” was coined for waste management. Anintegral part of a successful waste management strategy isresource recycling, reduction, and reuse. In 2002, EPAcreated the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) asa major effort to find ways to develop and implement suc-cessful conservation practices and, thus, a new phase wascoined: “cradle to cradle.” This session will bring togethersenior-level regulatory officials from EPA headquartersand regional offices, as well as industry representatives topresent the status of the RCC initiative. A sampling of thetopics to be discussed are lessons learned over the pastcouple of years, initiatives and programs developed insuccessful operations, and what lies ahead from both aregulatory and program implementation perspective.Panelists will include Matt Hale, EPA’s Director of SolidWaste, and Margaret Guerriero, director of the Waste Pes-ticides and Toxics Division at EPA Region 5. Roundingout the session will be industry case studies (both successstories and lessons learned) of the implementation of RCCprograms and how these programs have impacted facilityoperations.

EP-1e: Title V Permit Reform: Findings andSuggested ImprovementsSession Chair(s): Rahul P. Thaker, North Carolina Division ofAir Quality, and Gary McCutchen, RTP Environmental

EPA’s requirements for approvable Title V (operating per-mit) regulations were promulgated on July 21, 1992, requir-ing states to submit rules for approval by November 15, 1993.Most stationary sources of air pollution that are required toobtain a Title V permit have received their initial permit orhad the initial permit renewed. Interestingly, but understand-ably, the last sources to obtain such permits in a state are typi-cally the largest and most complex. Despite some progress,the Title V program remains controversial after more than adecade of implementation. Among the most contentiousissues are whether or not the Title V program improvesenvironmental protection and management; how much moni-toring, reporting, and recordkeeping can and should beadded to Title V permits to ensure compliance; and shouldEPA follow through and promulgate the revisions to the regu-lations proposed August 31, 1995? A six-member panel hasbeen selected to represent the diverse stakeholders and view-points affected by these regulations, they are Donald van derVaart, North Carolina Division of Air Quality; Ann Seha, Min-nesota Pollution Control Agency; Ray Vogel, EPA; John Walke,Natural Resources Defense Council; Alan Prouty, J.R. SimplotCo.; and Sheldon Zabel, Schiff Hardin. The panel sessionwill focus on discussions of which elements of the Title V pro-gram are working well and which ones are not, and offer sug-gestions for improvement. There will be a question-and-answerperiod at the end of the panel session.

Thursday, June 23EP-3g: Settlement Agreements and ConsentDecrees; How They Impact EnforcementSession Chair(s): Paul Amundsen, Amundsen & Gilroy, andGary McCutchen, RTP Environmental

The majority of environmental enforcement cases, in-cluding those arising under alleged violations of the CleanAir Act and SIPs, are resolved by settlement before trial.The negotiations are confidential until announced, butthe effect of these settlements on future EPA settlementsand enforcement actions may be dramatic. As a result,there has been little understanding of the importance ofthese agreements. This featured panel session, compris-ing a panel of three attorneys experienced in the negotia-tion of settlement agreements and consent decrees, willaddress key issues related to settlement agreements andconsent decrees, including approaches to commencingsuccessful settlement negotiations, settlement process strat-egies, getting from alleged violations to conceptual agree-ments, and what provisions are negotiable. The three panelmembers will be Paul Amundsen; N. Jonathan Peress,McLane, Graf, Raulerson, & Middleton; and Joseph Suich,LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene, & McRae. There will be a ques-tion-and-answer period at the end of the panel session. em

Copyright 2005 Air & Waste Management Association