The Federal Aviation Administration adopted rules to control particulate emissions from aircraft engines Friday, using the same regulation that EPA wrote in 2022.
The rule limits the amount of particle pollution released by commercial jet engines. It replaces an older system that assigned a “smoke number” to visible exhaust plumes. Fine particles from aircraft engines can cause health problems, particularly for people who live near airports.
“This first-of-its-kind rule in the United States will reduce the environmental impact of civil aviation on our health and climate,” Laurence Wildgoose, assistant administrator for the FAA’s Office of Policy, International Affairs and Environment, said in a statement.
The FAA is required to adopt the EPA standards under the Clean Air Act and doesn’t have authority to alter the EPA rules, according to a Federal Register notice.
