U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to present a less costly Boiler Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rule to the boiler industry this spring, said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation, in a recent statement.

The EPA will continue to work with permitting authorities and industry members on the Boiler MACT rule, which was initially issued in March 2011 and stopped through a stay provision issued by the EPA in May 2011. McCarthy said the agency will soon issue a no action assurance letter to those affected by the MACT rules.

EPA will not enforce any of the administrative notification requirements in the old rules for a period of time, while it works to finalize the rules by the spring of this year, according to McCarthy. The most recent revisions were published in the Federal Register on Dec. 23. The revised rule will be less costly than the original which will still include all of the health benefits of the original rule, McCarthy said.

The rules are expected to affect only a small segment of boilers. “The standards would focus on the less than one percent of boilers that emit the majority of pollution from this sector,” McCarthy said.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said there is no reason to believe the EPA will face additional court actions prior to finalizing the rule, and the agency has the tools to address any possible actions. Those tools include the no action notice letters, or the issuance of a 90-day stay made possible through the Clean Air Act if a source faces compliance issues. The EPA could also issue a longer stay under the Administrative Procedures Act, consistent with the court’s opinion.

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