House panel considers draft legislation overhauling National Source Review program

A House panel considered draft legislation on Wednesday that would reform the National Source Review (NSR) permitting program to clarify the types of facility upgrades at power plants, refineries, and industrial facilities require a permit.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) NSR permitting program is used to ensure air quality standards when power plants, refineries, and industrial boilers are built or modified. U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) said during Wednesday’s hearing that companies had been deterred from maintaining or upgrading existing facilities because of “uncertainty, complexity and burdens” of the NSR permitting program.

“This is disappointing because it means we are missing out on opportunities to increase the nation’s industrial capacity, to create more American jobs, and to improve our environment,” Shimkus, chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, said. “The discussion draft before us today reforms the NSR program by clarifying which types of facility upgrades require an owner to obtain an NSR permit. Historically, there has been a great deal of controversy and uncertainty surrounding this very issue. The main reason for this controversy is due to the fact that the NSR program uses a complicated annual emissions projection approach to determine whether a project triggers NSR.”

The draft legislation led by U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-NV) would replace the emissions projection approach currently used under the NSR program with the hour rate test applied under the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) program to determine which upgrades require an NSR permit.

Kirk Johnson, senior vice president of government relations for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, testified that regulatory policies like the NSR often permits “get in the way” of utilities adopting new technologies that could improve power plant efficiency and reliability while reducing emissions.

Ross Eisenberg, vice president of energy and resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers, agreed that NSR presents a “huge impediment” to the installation of more efficient technologies that could help combat climate change.

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the NSR program should present “clear standards for whenever reviews are necessary” to allow for more efficient business decisions, permitting decisions and more environmentally beneficial operations.

“We should have a program that works within the broader framework of state decision-making concerning permitting and meeting clean air standards,” Walden continued. “I also want to thank Mr. Griffith for his hard work on the draft to date. He is taking important steps that will provide for economic expansion while maintaining environmental protections. Doing this will ultimately benefit American workers and consumers around the nation.”