Acid Rain Program

Records questions and document requests covering all areas of the Acid Rain Program. The Hotline assists callers who have specific technical or policy questions by forwarding those inquiries to experienced EPA Acid Rain Division personnel, who review them and respond to the caller, typically within 24 hours. Hours 8 00 a.m. - 6 00p.m. EST. 

Environmental Effects of Acid Rain. Acid Rain Program, United States Environmental Protection Agency, http //www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acidrain/index.html... 

The Eastern Canadian Acid Rain Program was highly successful at reducing SO2 emissions and sulfate wet deposition in eastern Canada (see Figure 10). Sulfur emissions actually declined more than the desired 50% by 1994, and have continued to decline modestly in the present. These SO2 emissions in the United States have also reduced dramatically, particularly since the implementation of the Canada-United States Air Quality Accord in 1991. This has been especially important to the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in eastern Canada, since US emissions are responsible for a large proportion of the acid deposition received in eastern Canada due to transboundary transport. 

Implementation of the Acid Rain Program under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments will confer significant benefits on the nation, By reducing SO ... 

Acid rain control will produce significant benefits in terms of lowered surface water acidity. If acidic deposition levels were to remain constant over the next 50 years (tlie time frame used for projection models), the acidification rate of lakes in the Adirondacks that are larger than 10 acres would rise by 50 percent or more. Scientists predict, however, that the decrease in SO emissions required by the Acid Rain Program will significantly reduce acidification due to atmospheric sulfui Without the reductions in SO2 emissions, the proportions of aquatic systems in sensitive ecosystems that are acidic would remain high or dramatically worsen. 

Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 calls for a 10 million ton reduction in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide (S02) in the United Stales by the year 2010, which represents an approximately 40 percent reduction in anthropogenic emissions from 1980 levels, Implementation of Title IV is referred to as the Acid Rain Program the primary motivation for this section of the Clean Air Act Amendments is to reduce acid precipitation and dry deposition. To achieve these reductions, the law requires a two-phase tightening of the restrictions placed on fossil-fuel-lired power plants. 

Roberts, L. Learning from the Acid Rain Program. Science, 1302 (March 15, 1991). 

Ellerman, A.D., Joskow, P.L., Schmalensee, R., Montero, J.P., Bailey, E.M., 2000. Markets for Clean Air The U.S. Acid Rain Program, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 

EPA. Acid Rain Program www.epa.gov/docs/ acidrain/overview.html. 

This book provides Information about the Clean Air Act and includes topics such as required pollution control technology, requirements for nonattainment areas, the Title IV acid rain program, the Title V permitting program, and other related topics. 

Acid Rain Program. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

State-by-State NO Emission Levels for All Acid Rain Program Sources 1990 to 2004... 

United States Environmental Protection Agency (2005). EPA Acid Rain Program 2004 Progress Report, EPA 430-R-05-012. Clean Air Markets Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov/airmarkets). 

Cooperating through Domestic Acid Rain Programs... 

By most measures, the Acid Rain Program has been a model for successful emission trading systems. Allowances in Phase I sold for approximately 100 per ton of SOj, well under half of what had been forecast (about 250/ton.). Since 1994, allowances have cost 65 to 210 per ton as scrubber technology has become cheaper, and it has become less expensive to switch to low-sulfur coal. Sulfur dioxide emissions declined faster than anticipated and the market has now reached a value of 2 billion/year. Twenty-seven units added scrubbers accounting for 45% of the reductions in 1995-96. Seven large units accounted for two-thirds of this amount. Many units also switched fuels - almost all from high to lower sulfur coal. ... 

On the other hand, SO2 also combines in the atmosphere with ammonia to form sulfates—fine particulates (PM2 5)— which have been shown in several studies to contribute significantly to pre-mature mortality. Thus, even if acid rain has only a marginal environmental impact, reductions in SO2 emissions have additional (and potentially much larger) health benefits, through reduced pre-mature mortahty. EPA (2003) estimates that the human health benefits of the Acid Rain Program will be roughly 50 billion annually, due to decreased mortahty, fewer hospital admissions and fewer emergency room visits, by the year 2010. 

Ellerman, A. D., Schmalensee, R., Joskow, R, Montero, J. and Bailey, E. (1997). Emissions Trading Under the U.S. Acid Rain Program Evaluation of Compliance Costs and Allowance Market Performance, MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research. 

Environmental Law Institute (ELI). (1997). Implementing an Emissions Cap and Trade Allowance Trading System for Greenhouse Gases Lessons from the Acid Rain Program, Research Report, ELI Washington, DC. 

In addition to the federal Acid Rain Program, states are given a great deal of responsibility in mitigating other emissions, such as smog. Pollution limits are set according to the severity of the problem within certain areas of the country. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the transportation sector, where vehicular and fuel requirements vary considerably on a state-to-state basis. 

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