Читать книгу Continuous Emission Monitoring - James A. Jahnke - Страница 46

Actions such as issuing permits give an agency a great deal of flexibility for achieving its goals. The ability of an agency to incorporate continuous monitoring requirements as part of these actions is within the agency's “discretionary authority.” Discretionary programs include:

Variances. Under special circumstances, a temporary authorization, called a variance, may allow a source to discharge pollutants in excess of the standard that would normally apply. A variance is generally issued for a specific time period, requiring that the source correct the problem and meet the standard by the end of the period. Special monitoring requirements are often included in the provisions of such variances.

Orders. Orders to comply with state agency requirements can be issued to a source under the enforcement authority given in Section 113 of the Clean Air Act. There are several types of orders: administrative orders, delayed compliance orders, and court orders. These orders differ with respect to the type of legal authority it takes to issue them.

Agreements. Agreements are often a result of bargaining between an agency and a source. Again, the purpose of any agreement is for the source to come into compliance with applicable regulations. As with orders, there are several types of agreements, each differing with respect to the level of authority or legal action exercised. Consent decrees, stipulation agreements, and court settlements are found in this group.

The use of discretionary authority allows fairness to be applied in regulatory programs. For example, a source may be able to gain time to install new control equipment by agreeing to the installation of a compliance CEM system. However, state discretionary authority can also result in arbitrary regulation since it does not have the extensive public oversight that rulemaking does.