Air Quality Experts Concerned About New EPA Barricade Rules

Air quality experts are concerned that the Environmental Protection Agency's new guidelines defining ambient air further exempts industries from installing pollution controls. 

Under the guidance, posted on Tuesday, industries are able to use "non-physical barriers" to enclose spaces where the public has been denied access, where before, under the Clean Air Act, they were forced to surround the property with fencing, reports The Hill.

Now, however, they'll be able to use items such as drone patrols or no trespassing signs as barricades, something John Walke, a senior attorney with the National Resources Defense Council called an "industry dream."

"(This) makes it more likely that industry can increase air pollution and worsen air quality in surrounding communities and escape pollution control measures," Walke said. 

The new rules will most likely benefit industries such as factories in rural areas that have large plots of land that are more expensive fence in, but Walke said the rule makes no sense. 

“If you focus on air quality, it makes no sense whatsoever because molecules move from Point A to Point B regardless of whether there are drones or a river or a fence," he said. 

The EPA said the new definition, part of the New Source Review, removes unnecessary obstacles to projects. 

“NSR reforms are a key component of President Trump’s agenda to revitalize American manufacturing and grow our economy while continuing to protect and improve the environment,”  EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement.

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