April 21, 2004—Additional reductions of nitrogen oxides from power plants will assist several eastern states in achieving air quality standards for ground-level ozone, or smog, under a new EPA rule. The rule completes the second and final phase of the Nitrogen Oxides State Implementation Plan (SIP) Call, or “NOx SIP Call,” an action that will reduce a projected one million tons of NOx, 10 percent of which will be addressed in this second phase.
The air pollution controls will improve air quality for more than 100 million people. The rule will reduce smog-forming emissions of NOx that cross state lines and impair air quality. It requires states that submitted SIPs to meet the Phase I NOx SIP Call budgets to submit Phase II SIP revisions as needed to achieve the necessary incremental reductions of NOx.
For more information and a pre-publication copy of the rule, visit EPA.
