Pulp and paper "cluster rule" called burdensome by industry In issuing a final rule to control the pulp and paper industry's combined air and water dis­charges, EPA has set effluent lim­its of dioxin based on the pulp-processing technology already in place at half the mills in the United States. Environmentalists criticized the ruling for not going far enough to implement clean technology, whereas an industry group calls the technology man­date a burden on U.S. firms.

The final rule, signed by EPA Administrator Carol Browner on Nov. 14, requires U.S. mills to cut dioxin discharges to the level at­tainable by substituting chlorine dioxide for elemental chlorine in the bleaching process. This was one of two options to control wa­ter discharges that EPA consid­ered in its draft rule. The agency decided against requiring oxygen delignification, a more stringent pulp-processing technology that would have reduced the use of bleaching chemicals in the whit­ening process and further re­duced dioxin discharges.

EPA said the new "cluster rule" will virtually eliminate dioxin dis­charges into waterways. It calls for a 96% reduction in dioxin dis­charges, based on the substitu­tion of chlorine dioxide for ele­mental chlorine during the bleaching process. The rule will also lead to a 59% cut in total toxic air pollutants, including a 50% reduction in emissions of volatile organic compounds and sulfur and a 37% cut in particu­late matter.

The U.S. pulp and paper in­dustry produces 35% of pulp made worldwide and is one of the nation's largest industrial sectors. The rule affects some 150 mills nationwide. Industry trade groups lobbied for the less strict effluent standard. American Forest and Paper Association President W. Henson Moore argued that even the lenient rule will be a burden. This is one of the most expensive

rules ever proposed for a single industry, requiring investments that place the U.S. pulp and paper industry at a competitive disadvan­tage globally," said Moore. EPA has

estimated that the industry will need to invest $1.8 billion to com­ply with the new rules.

According to Patrick Hurston, a spokesperson for the Alliance for Environmental Technology, an industry trade association that endorses the use of chlorine diox­ide, 55% of U.S. paper mills are already in compliance with even the more stringent version of the effluent requirements. Oxygen delignification technology is com­monplace in many European mills, said Troy Swackhammer, an EPA engineer involved in devel­oping the new rule.

The Weyerhaeuser Co., a major U.S. pulp and paper producer, "already met the effluent stan­dards in this rule before the rules were published," said company spokesperson Kate Tate. "We be­lieve in using the most advanced, commercially proven technology available," she said. Tate added

that Weyerhaeuser has adopted oxygen delignification at many of its mills.

Environmentalists lobbied EPA to mandate oxygen delignification and to encourage industry to adopt totally chlorine free (TCF) bleaching technologies. TCF tech­nology does not lead to the for­mation of dioxin and other chlo­rinated organic compounds.

Environmentalists say the rules do not conform to the Clean Water Act, which stipulates use of the "best available technology" that is economically achievable. Jessica Landman, senior attorney for the National Resources De­fense Council, said the new stan­dards do not move the industry forward. "It's going to thrust the industry full speed into the 1970s," she said, noting that half of the industry had already con­verted to chlorine dioxide bleach­ing BRIAN LAVENDEL

AIR QUALITY

California to clamp down on light truck emissions

California regulators have proposed tighter emission requirements for mini-vans, sport utility vehicles, and other light trucks. The amendment to Califor­nia's low-emission vehicle regulations would lower nitrous oxide emission levels to 0.05 gram per mile from the current standard of 0.2 gpm. If approved in November as scheduled, the amendment would require that the popular vehicles meet the same emission standards as cars by 2008.

Light trucks made up 44% of all new vehicle sales nationwide and more than 95% of all truck sales in 1997, according to the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA). Because of increased sales of this class of vehicles and the looser standards set for them under federal law, California regulators believe the new rules are needed for the state to meet federal goals for ozone reduction. The proposed regulation would be more stringent than those EPA proposed in December for most types of light trucks. In Janu­ary, Ford Motor Corp. announced that it would begin producing sport utility vehicles in 1999 that emit as much as 40% less nitrogen oxide. These vehicles, however, would still not meet the stricter standards proposed by California.

"California can't tell the auto industry to make more fuel-efficient vehicles, but it can require lower hydrocarbon and nitrous oxide emissions for these things," said Ann Misinkoff of the Sierra Club.

The AAMA's Steve Douglas said the regulations proposed by the California Air Resources Board "would be very difficult and costly to comply with by 2004," the deadline for reducing light truck emissions of NOxto 0.05 gpm. Un­der the Clean Air Act, California can adopt air pollution controls that are stricter than federal standards.

The proposed regulations encourage automakers to equip light trucks with a three-way catalyst technology that simultaneously reduces hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide released through the tailpipe, said Steve Albu, chief of engineering studies for the board. —DEBRA SCHWARTZ

FEB. 1, 1998 /ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 7 9 A