For Americans interested in the well-being of the atmosphere, the soap opera continues with no end in sight.

One plot centers around the New Source Review program, which was written into the Clean Air Act in 1977.

The program forces newly constructed pollution sources to install the best available pollution control technology. It also forces existing pollution sources, like coal-fired power plants, to install the best available controls whenever they make modifications beyond routine maintenance and will significantly increase their emissions.

The program was created to eventually clean up emissions from pollution sources as older and dirtier facilities die off.

On Dec. 31, President George W. Bush and the Environmental Protection Agency published finalized revisions to the program.

The finalized revisions do not really affect the electric utility business, but proposed rules defining routine maintenance and major modifications will, said Melissa McHenry, a spokeswoman for Columbus-based American Electric Power.

These rules are published in the Federal Register for a comment period. The rules attempt to clarify the modifications that can be made at existing pollution sources without triggering the need to install the best available pollution controls.

The responses so far have been heated.

Nine northeastern states and Pennsylvania have filed suit in federal court to prevent any of the revisions from being implemented.

“The Bush administration wants to get rid of New Source Review altogether, and the revisions exempt a huge number of industries from the program. We are committed to challenging them in court,” said Judith Enck, policy adviser to the New York Attorney General.

John Edwards, D-N.C., and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., introduced an amendment in the Senate that would prevent the EPA from using any congressional appropriated funds to implement the revisions. The amendment lost by only four votes.

“Four senators we think would have voted for it were absent that day, and Republicans brought in six people to vote against it, just in case. Senator Edwards definitely plans on continuing this battle,” said Mike Briggs, Edwards’ press secretary.

Instead, a weaker amendment passed that allows the revisions to be implemented on March 3 and forces the National Academy of Sciences to study them. This is the amendment supported by Sens. George Voinovich and Mike DeWine of Ohio.

Environmentalists not associated with the EPA have said these revisions to the NSR program are serious changes to the Clean Air Act that will give existing pollution sources more flexibility in terms of what constitutes routine maintenance, and when they are forced to install the best available pollution controls.

The New Source Review debate will be important to Ohio for two reasons: first, Ohio has one of the largest problems in the nation with coal-fired power plant emissions; and second, Ohio parades itself as a state preparing to be a technological leader in the 21st century.

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