EPA Climate Change Adaptation Implementation Plans

A Changing Climate Means Changing Priorities at EPA

Adapting to climate change while maintaining the integrity of its programs is a huge challenge facing the EPA and could impact every business that must comply with environmental regulations. The recent release of draft Climate Change Adaptation and Implementation Plans for public comment provides a look at the anticipated threats posed by ongoing climate change and how EPA will incorporate climate change within its programs and regulatory processes. The OAR’s Plan is representative of all national office plans, and provides a look at the perceived long- and short-term impacts of air-related climate change and what programmatic changes, voluntary initiatives and new or revised regulations may be ahead.

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Join us for an in-depth webinar on January 7, 2014. Our presenter, a seasoned environmental professional who has helped many companies assess EPA activities and initiatives, will help you get a clearer sense of what will unfold in 2014.

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The OAR Plan first addresses air-related vulnerabilities from climate change that include:

• An increase in regional tropospheric (the lowest layer of the atmosphere) ozone pollution due to increased temperatures and weaker air circulation even with the same level of emissions of ozone-forming chemicals. Ozone is a primary ingredient of smog and is considered a serious human health threat.

• An increase in the length of the ozone season (those months when weather and emissions combine to form elevated ground-level ozone) is also likely. Again, a longer ozone season may mean more dangerous smog days impacting those with respiratory illnesses and other sensitive populations.

• Particulate matter (PM) emissions from increased frequency and intensity of wildfires is a complex but already present impact. Although this “second-order climate effect” is especially difficult to determine because it is dependent upon many inter-related factors such as precipitation, drought and wind, the EPA contends “forest fires are likely to increase in frequency, severity, distribution, and duration in the Southeast, the Intermountain West and the West due to climate change.”

• Indoor air quality impacts may worsen as more severe and frequent weather events force people to remain indoors for longer periods of time. In addition, heavy precipitation and storms may increase human exposure to mold, building material emissions and outdoor pollutants due to indoor dampness and deterioration of protective building envelopes.

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Learn the key activities the EPA undertook in 2013, with particular emphasis on those that will have an impact in 2014, and much more during our in-depth webinar on January 7, 2014.
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• Increased temperatures and severe weather may also influence the emergence, evolution and geographic range of pests, infectious agents and diseases. Again, the deterioration of building envelopes may also create new avenues for rodent and insect infestations resulting in the need for greater use of pesticides indoors.

• Adverse weather and changing temperature norms will prompt greater weatherization to conserve energy, which can result in a reduction in adequate ventilation and increased indoor air pollution. In particular, radon exposure may be elevated due to increased  weatherization and habitation of structures built below ground level.

• The EPA’s stratospheric ozone protection programs may be impacted by increases in the diversity (i.e., heterogeneity) of processes that influence stratospheric ozone production/destruction, increased use of ozone depleting substances (ODSs) for cooling (such as chemicals used in manufacturing foam insulation, etc.) , and the EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program that evaluates and regulates ODS substitutes.

• One new area of concern is that of how air-borne sulfur, nitrogen and mercury will affect ecosystems in light of different changing climatic conditions. OAR recognizes that while research is underway to better define the broad range of impacts from atmospheric deposition of these emissions, current scientific evidence is limited. Projected changes in the climate and the carbon cycle, however, could impact ecosystem growth, species changes, surface water chemistry, and mercury methylation and bioaccumulation.

             

These are some of the highest priority climate change vulnerabilities that could have regulatory repercussions for industry. Tomorrow we will review what these repercussions may mean and what changes the OAR may recommend in the future.