EPA approves Arizona county's first-in-nation emissions rule
(The Center Square) – A new rule approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could help get high-polluting vehicles off the road and replaced with cleaner alternatives in Arizona's Maricopa County. That’s because the EPA greenlit the municipality's Rule 205, a first-in-the-nation program allowing fleet owners and operators in the state's most populous county to generate Emission Reduction Credits by upgrading their vehicles with cleaner technologies. Those credits can, in turn, be purchased by factory owners or others that are considered “stationary emissions sources” to offset any potential emission increases that come from expanded operations. The newest rule is the brainchild of the Phoenix-based Maricopa County Air Quality Department, which reports to the county’s Board of Supervisors. Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee told The Center Square on Thursday that the county’s newest emissions rule will allow business to expand in the region, without harming air quality. She also noted no taxpayer dollars would be spent as part of the implementation of Rule 205, as was the case with Rule 204 , a similar policy that concerned non-road vehicles such as locomotives and construction equipment. “Maricopa County has an incredible air quality division, and they are they're basically Department of Super
