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The best available science calls for immediate reductions in global methane emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Recent studies indicate that the North American fracking boom is a major cause of atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas which began rising rapidly in the late 2000s. Natural gas has been widely promoted as a "bridge fuel," but it only has climate benefits over coal if fugitive methane emissions throughout the production cycle are minimal. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has addressed these emissions through New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) set under the Clean Air Act. However, the existing standards have not reduced methane emissions to the point that natural gas presents any climate benefits, and the Trump Administration has proposed to weaken them further. In the face of uncertainty about the continued use of NSPS to reduce methane and other greenhouse gases, this Article outlines two alternative legal pathways for continuing to regulate and minimize fugitive emissions from the oil and gas sector. The Article advocates first for expanding NSPS regulation beyond new and modified sources to also apply to existing sources. Second, if the current NSPS is successfully rolled back, it advocates alternatively for petitioning the EPA to regulate methane through the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the mediating influence of consumer expertise on the antecedents and consequences of Affect within a professional services market context. Whilst there is increasing evidence to suggest an empirical link between Affect evoked and satisfaction within such contexts, previous research has largely ignored the role of consumer expertise as a mediating influence. Using a scenario based approach, the objective of the study was to test for multigroup invariance among competing structural models based on the ability of the respondents to form expectation and performance assessments about the service they are receiving. The results indicate that it is important to examine different levels of consumer expertise in detail to better understand how certain characteristics such as experience and qualifications influence the priority and functionality attached to service attributes when making satisfaction judgments within a professional service context. This may in turn have broader implications for our contextual understanding of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article poses three questions: (1) Can greenhouse gases be regulated under § 112 of the Clean Air Act? (2) If they were to be regulated in this way, what would the practical consequences be? (3) Should greenhouse gases be regulated this way? To summarize the offered answers: greenhouse gases can indeed be regulated under § 112; if they were to be regulated, the practical consequences would be substantial but potentially manageable; and whether or not they should be regulated in this way depends entirely on the nature and survival of the upcoming New Source Performance Standards under § 111(d). If § 111(d) regulation survives, the question of whether or not § 112 regulation could coexist arises, with the answer being in the affirmative albeit with potentially prohibitive difficulties. If § 111(d) regulation fails, § 112 regulation may serve as a regulatory last resort on which the Environmental Protection Agency may have to rely in order to seriously tackle the threat of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of alternate fuels and raw materials in the cement manufacturing process has evolved substantially over the last two to three decades, along with approaches to acquire regulatory approval. Most recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published new regulations as an overlay to what has been in place, having the potential to significantly impact this practice. Instead of dealing with the state agencies that usually have permitting authority, the new rules add another layer of regulatory hurdles by EPA. The new regulations also force a more significant overlap of the air permitting and solid waste rules. As a result, implementing an alternate material program and seeking approval has the potential to be considerably more challenging for the regulated community, in addition to adding complexity for the state agency permitting staff. This paper provides an update on the latest solid waste and air regulations applicable to alternative material use in cement plants, and potential implications for the U.S. industry. Early experiences will be explored, in addition to contemplating potential permitting and/or approval pathways expected to be encountered with the newest regulations in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the enforcement of government regulations in America as of June 2013, focusing on a new source review enforcement initiative by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Professors Kristin E. Hickman and Claire A. Hill are addressed, along with various categories of regulatees such as maximal compliers, flouters, and minimal compliers. Deterrence and assistance are examined in relation to compliance with environmental regulations.

Abstract: We analyze the effects of the New Source Review (NSR) environmental regulations on coal-fired electric power plants. Regulations that grew out of the Clean Air Act of 1970 required new electric generating plants to install costly pollution control equipment but exempted existing plants. Plants lost their exemptions if they made “major modifications.” We examine whether this caused firms to invest less in grandfathered plants, possibly leading to lower efficiency and higher emissions. We find evidence that heightened NSR enforcement reduced capital investment at vulnerable plants. However, we find no discernible effect on other inputs or emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article reports on the increase business value of landfill gas-to-energy projects including the policies and requirements for stationary internal combustion engines. In the landfill gas-to-energy projects the value creation is important since it relates to environmental management. Solid waste management is a major challenge of every city for it expels landfill gases or also known as greenhouse gases (GHG). Therefore, several environmental regulations are made at the federal, state and local levels such as the new source performance standards (NSPSs), emissions guidelines (EGs), and the national emission standard for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP). The conversion of landfill gas to energy reduces GHG emissions and provides energy which generate revenue for landfills.

This paper explores firms' response to regulatory enforcement. New Source Review (NSR), a provision of the Clean Air Act, imposes stringent emissions limitations on significantly modified older power plants. In 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sued owners of 46 plants for NSR violations. We study how electricity companies respond to both the perceived of future action, and the action itself. A discrete choice model estimates plants likelihood of being named in lawsuits increases with large historic emissions and investments. On the eve of the lawsuits, emissions at plants with a one standard deviation greater probability of being sued fell approximately 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic capability theory argues that organizations' internal capabilities enable sustained competitive advantage. Innovations in work practices (commonly termed 'high performance', 'high commitment' or 'high involvement' practices) are an important source of these internal capabilities but research evidence shows low levels of penetration. Using a practice perspective, case study analysis of 7 establishments in the aerospace sector identifies three themes that are under-attended to in current research on innovations in work practices: industry and production context; distributed nature of management activity, and social embeddedness. Implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In New York v. Environmental Protection Agency, the D.C. Circuit upheld most of EPA's changes to the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program. Despite widespread public criticism that the new rule would make it easier for existing sources to avoid installing pollution control technology when they make modifications, the D.C. Circuit deterred to EPA's judgment that the new rule would have compensating environmental benefits. However the court did vacate the rule's Clean Units and Pollution Control Projects provisions, and remanded to the agency to provide a more reasoned explanation of how less stringent reporting requirements would not undermine EPA enforcement practices. The court also deferred two potentially critical questions as unripe: whether EPA can compel states to adopt the new rules and whether EPA's approval of state implementation plans containing the new rules would violate the Clean Air Act's anti-backsliding provisions. After examining the court's entire decision, this Note will focus on these two deferrals and argue that they were prudent given the very detailed factual records necessary to decide these claims. By leaving these claims unsettled, the decision allows for further analysis of the new rule's environmental and health effects-analysis that might improve the rule's clarity, practicability, and environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The federal government in late 1999 sued thirty-six electric power facilities to enforce several of the Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) and New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) provisions. As these cases have slowly churned through the courts, the government has simultaneously tinkered with these rules through various rulemaking initiatives. Taken together, these actions have clouded the meaning of critical NSR and NSPS provisions, and generated many additional civil and legislative battles. This Article focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court's review of one such civil battle--the Fourth Circuit's decision in United States v. Duke Energy Corp.--and EPA's subsequent rulemaking response. The Article first dissects the Fourth Circuit's opinion, argues that it was wrongly decided, and urges the US. Supreme Court to reach a different conclusion. Then, the Article outlines EPA's proposed regulatory solution to the Fourth Circuit's decision and proposes two vastly different regulatory responses. Unlike EPA's proposal, this Article's proposals unify the NSR and NSPS provisions and provide greater regulatory flexibility without significantly weakening the NSR program. Regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court decides, this Article takes the position that Congress or EPA should adopt one of its proposals because the proposals ease industry burdens, provide greater environmental protection, and simplify the entire NSR and NSPS process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Clean Air Act and its subsequent amendments have been lauded as the primary stimulant to the impressive improvement in local air quality in the US since 1970. A key component of these regulations is the New Source Review (NSR) requirement, which includes the contentious stipulation that when an existing plant seeks to modify its operations, the entire plant must comply with current standards for new sources. This requirement was included to improve air quality in dirty areas, and prevent a deterioration of air quality in clean areas. Yet, whether NSR provides the proper plant-level incentives is unclear: there are strong disincentives to undertake major plant modifications to avoid NSR. In our examination of more than 2500 and 2200 plant-level modification decisions and closures, respectively, we find empirical evidence suggesting that NSR retards modification rates, while doing little to hasten the closure of existing dirty plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]