Filed Under: Local | New York City | Air | Air | Energy | Public Health | Transportation

Alternative Energy Source: WindmillsIn his 2003 State of the State address, the New York Governor issued a mandate that within 10 years, 25% of the state’s electricity supply would come from alternative energy sources. To ensure this happens, New York’s Public Service Commission will implement a renewable portfolio standard for electricity bought on the statewide wholesale market. The governor also called for New York to adopt standards similar to a 2002 California law that attempts to limit automotive emissions of greenhouse gas-producing carbon dioxide. While a 2002 Global Warming Task Force had proposed limiting carbon dioxide emissions from vehicle tailpipes, the recommendation was rejected based on a unanimous belief that the technical and legal obstacles would stall passage and implementation. California’s proposals are more aggressive than those imposed by the federal Clean Air Act, which calls for tougher vehicle-emissions standards and the development of cleaner alternatives to fossil-based fuels. The statute also limits the output of industrial pollutants that cause acid rain, bans chemicals that threaten the atmosphere's protective ozone layer, and aims to reduce toxic and cancer-causing chemicals from businesses and factories. Under the Clean Air Act, each state must adopt a State Implementation Plan ("SIP") to comply with federal clean air standards. New York is no exception and is working on plans to reduce emissions to levels that meet EPA's health-based air standards. For example, New York City must meet the federal standard for ground-level ozone by 2007 and take steps to reduce vehicle emissions, including the adoption of transportation control measures ("TCM") that encourage car-pooling, transit usage, and reduced driving. An enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance program, one of the more important emission reduction strategies in the SIP for the New York metropolitan area, began in 1998. Under the New York City Air Pollution Control Code, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection issues permits, conducts field inspections and serves notices of violations for both "mobile sources (vehicles) and "stationary sources" (e.g., boilers). The City's Air Code regulates air-impacting industry, including incineration (refuse and fuel oil), asbestos, dry cleaning, printing and fuel transfer and storage. A commonly flouted rule under the code prohibits vehicle idling for more than three minutes. Yet, in January 2004, the New York State Attorney General and four school bus fleets announced an agreement that will help reduce pollution from idling school buses and improve neighborhood air quality. Under the agreement, the companies will implement a no-idling policy that prohibits idling for more than one minute within one block of a school or for more than three minutes at any other location. The fleets also agreed to install diesel exhaust filters to reduce emissions, as part of the New York Power Authority’s plan to provide $6 million to retrofit 1,000 school buses with filters. The filters, when combined with ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, will reduce emissions by up to 90%. The Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Diesel Program—which includes voluntary programs that focus on vehicles and equipment in use today such as the Clean School Bus USA Program, the Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program and SmartWay Transport Partnership—announced a major rule in May 2004, the Clean Air Non-Road Diesel Rule. The new rule complements the 2000 Clean Diesel Truck and Bus Rule announced that called for manufacturers to build and companies—beginning with 2007 models—to operate fleets of heavy-duty trucks and buses that are 95 percent cleaner than today's trucks and buses. This mandate is expected to reduce emission levels from construction, agricultural and industrial diesel-powered equipment by more than 90 percent and remove 99 percent of the sulfur in diesel fuel by 2010, resulting in dramatic reductions in soot from all diesel engines.