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NORTHEASTERN STATES SHOW SUCCESS OF NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSION TRADING PROGRAM
Release Date: 03/30/2000
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2000
NORTHEASTERN STATES SHOW SUCCESS OF
NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSION TRADING PROGRAM
An air pollution control commission representing Northeastern states has just released a report showing how successful a nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission reduction and trading program can be. The trading program represents the first application of the market-based emissions cap and trade concept to an issue other than acid rain, where the approach has been used successfully since 1995 to control sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from power plants. The Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) NOx Budget report for 1999 shows that, in participating northeastern states, emissions of this pollutant were reduced 20 percent below levels allowed by law and more than 50 percent below 1990 levels. The program demonstrates that states and EPA can successfully partner to make substantial reductions in NOx emissions using least cost approaches, and that a market-based cap and trade approach can be applied to interstate air pollution problems besides acid rain. Congress created the OTC in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments to better coordinate the efforts of northeastern states in reducing NOx emissions. NOx is a prime ingredient in the formation of the nation’s most pervasive air pollutant, ground level ozone (smog), which can irritate the respiratory tract, impair breathing ability and cause various other respiratory problems. In a unique partnership between federal and state government, OTC asked to help implement their NOx program. The “1999 OTC NOx Budget Program Compliance Report” can be found at: http://www.sso.org/otc/ or at: https://www.epa.gov/acidrain. For further technical information contact Kenon Smith at 202-564-9164 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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