On Wednesday, March 16 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a new proposal to further crack down on CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants. Aside from CO2 pollution, these rules seek to reduce mercury, acid gas, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide emissions. Particulate matter emissions will be reduced by 30%, sulfur dioxide emissions by 54%, and both mercury and acid gas by a staggering 91%.
The EPA stated that the new regulations will save lives and prevent illness by reducing emissions of these toxins that are said to cause birth defects and respiratory problems in both children and adults. Still, the new initiative is estimated to cost about $2.8 billion annually.
The Bush administration tried to stop pollution in the same way through a similar proposal known as the Clean Air Interstate Rule, but was told in 2008 by the U.S. Court of Appeals that the agency had overstepped its boundaries and to revise the rule. Surely many power companies felt that they were safe from this type of regulation after this ruling, but now just a few years later many plants that wouldn’t be cost-effective to retrofit with the new pollution controls face shutting down within the next few years.
Generally, the older a power plant is, the more it will take to get it up to par with the EPA’s newly proposed rules. This is because plants built more recently already have a lot of the pollution controlling technology that will soon be required, while those built decades ago will have to undergo a major overhaul to fall into compliance. Either way, plants that don’t shut down will undoubtedly raise rates, costing the consumer more.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember about this is the fact that it is only a proposal, and a series of public hearings will still be held around the country before the final rules are approved and become law. Either way, it is now obvious that the EPA is serious when it comes to reducing pollution caused by coal-burning power plants.
Interested in what the EPA is up to?? Click here to read more.
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