"Pennsylvania is considering new air pollution limits for diesel- and natural gas-powered engines used in Marcellus Shale development that are stricter than those that exist now but, according to eight environmental groups, not nearly as tough as they could and should be."
"The new pollution limits are contained in a proposed "General Permit 5," now under final consideration by the state Department of Environmental Protection, and would significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides or "NOx" -- a primary component of unhealthy ozone, smog and acid rain. They also would apply to other pollutants from well drilling, compressor station and pipeline pumping engines of less than 1,500 horsepower that emit less than 100 tons of the pollutant annually.
But after two years of lobbying by the gas drilling industry, the DEP decided to allow the engines to emit three times more air pollution than what was initially proposed by the DEP's Bureau of Air Quality in 2010, even though emissions-controls manufacturers say their equipment can meet lower emissions limits."
Don Hopey reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette January 13, 2013.
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