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EPA Rules that MDEQ Failed to Follow Clean Air Act on GM Permit

Environmental Leaders Say Decision Right for both Jobs and Health

Contact Jeff Gearhart 734/761-3186 x 117
James Clift 517/487-9539

ANN ARBOR, March 7, 2002-- A decision yesterday by the U.S. EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) supports environmentalists’ claims that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's permit for a new General Motors assembly plant in Delta Township, near Lansing, did not meet federal requirements.

In the appeal filed last October, the Ecology Center and the Michigan Environmental Council argued that MDEQ failed to properly apply federal Clean Air Act regulations in deciding what pollution control equipment would be required on the facility. The EAB agreed with the environmentalists on five of six counts, and remanded the permit back to MDEQ for corrections.

"We have felt for a long time that the state has been allowing large corporations to write their own permits and ignoring its responsibility to protect the public health", said Jeff Gearhart, Ecology Center Campaign Director. "This time, though, the state failed both the people and GM by issuing a bad permit, and the EPA stepped in. These regulations are in
place for a reason to improve the new plant's impact on air quality."

"We've argued from the outset that federal law requires the installation of better controls on the GM facility, to reduce toxic air pollutants," said James Clift, Policy Director of the Michigan Environmental Council."Following Clean Air Act guidelines means better health and quality of life in the Lansing area."

Most of the issues resolved yesterday by the EAB have also been the source of controversy at a second GM facility, the Lansing Craft Center, which is slated to build the new SSR sports car. The company seeks an MDEQ permit to increase emissions from the Craft Center, and has so far refused to install similar pollution controls there.

"We believe that yesterday's ruling will lead GM to further consider pollution controls at the Craft Center too," said Gearhart. "We need to quickly reach an agreement that resolves the long-standing odor and emission problems in the Westside neighborhood and move forward with building the SSR in Lansing."

The ruling at the Delta Township plant forces MDEQ to issue a new permit for the plant, reconsidering whether additional pollution control equipment should be included on the plant. The pollution controls in question could reduce the emission of dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOC's) by up to 300 tons per year.

For more information on the decision and the appeal filed, go to http://www.ecocenter.org/cleanproduction.shtml

Based in Ann Arbor, the Ecology Center is a regional environmental organization which works for clean air, safe water, and environmental justice. The Michigan Environmental Council based in Lansing, is a statewide coalition of over 50 environmental, public health, and faith-based organizations working together to protect the environment.