v>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Air and Radiation
EPA420-F-96-010
July 1996
Office of Mobile Sources
Environmental
Fact Sheet
Reducing Aircraft and Airport
Emissions in the South Coast
In 1990, the South Coast air basin contained approximately 16
tons per day of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and 13 tons per day
of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from airport activities.
These activities included emissions from ground service
equipment (GSE), auxiliary power units (APU) and aircraft
engines. Because attainment in the South Coast will require
reductions from every source of emissions, it has always been
important to evaluate the feasibility of reductions from all
sources including aircraft and airports.
Federal
Implementation
Plan Proposal
Previous Regulatory Activities
In order to reduce emissions from these activities, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a Federal
Implementation Plan (FIP) in 1994 which included an airport cap/
bubble with a 25-45 percent reduction range for VOC and a 35-45
percent reduction range for NOx. The proposal also presented a list
of possible mitigation options to achieve these reductions. These
included operational controls for commercial aircraft such as single/
reduced engine taxiing, reduced use of reverse thrust and towing of
aircraft to the runway. The mitigation options also included controls
for APUs and GSE such as using alternative fuels and electrification.
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Interim Final
Federal
Implementation
Plan
In 1995, EPA issued an interim final FIP which dropped the airport
bubble/cap requirements and proposed regulations for achieving
reductions from only APUs and GSE. The APU and GSE
regulations would require minimizing APU operations and
electrifying GSE to the maximum extent feasible. Instead of the 25-
45 percent reduction range for VOC and NOx proposed in 1994, the
interim final proposal would achieve approximately a 16-25 percent
reduction for VOC and NOx. Shortly after it was approved, the
interim final FIP was rescinded by the United States Congress.
California
Ozone State
Implementation
Plan
As EPA was working on the FIP, the State of California was
developing its clean air plan and, in November 1994, adopted the
1994 California Ozone State Implementation Plan (SIP). This Plan
included a commitment for EPA to adopt emission standards that
would achieve a 30 percent reduction in VOCs and NOx from new
commercial aircraft engines.
International
Standards
EPA has participated in the international process for evaluating new
aircraft emission standards. The International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) is responsible for evaluation and recommenda-
tion of worldwide commercial aircraft engine standards and the
United States is represented by the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). EPA has been working with the FAA.
Currently, ICAO is considering a 16 percent NOx stringency
increase to be phased in from 2000 to 2008. If adopted, the full
emissions reduction potential of this new standard would occur well
after 2010, the attainment date for the South Coast. More
specifically, emission benefits at that time could be minimal, clearly
not delivering the reductions identified in the SIP for aircraft engine
emission standards. However, there remain other emission control
strategies (such as those identified in the FIP), that may have the
potential to provide most or all of the reductions desired from the
aviation sector.
The Public Consultative Process
One of the purposes of the public consultative process is to have all
stakeholders work together to identify the best options for achieving
further emissions reductions from mobile source controls at airports
to the extent they are needed for attainment of the ozone health
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standard in the South Coast. The process will also identify the
appropriate parties responsible for adopting and implementing the
controls expeditiously.
Public Meetings
A series of public meetings have been scheduled to complement
ongoing processes as well as initiate new discussions on how to
reduce emissions from various categories of mobile sources. In
October 1996, EPA will hold a second public meeting which will
focus on pending national and international ship and aircraft
controls, and possible reductions from port and airport measures.
More details on this meeting will be sent out in the next two months.
Input
Requested
EPA wants your involvement in this process and would like to hear
about any ideas you may have to help make this process a success.
We also want to hear about ongoing efforts to look at reducing
emissions from airports and aircraft. Please call Julia Barrow at
(415) 744-1230 with any comments or questions about the process.
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