In June, the EPA proposed a rule designed to limit carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. The rule provides flexibility to states as to how to achieve the reduction goals; however, some states who will be charged with administering the program have expressed concern over the proposed rules’ frontloading of carbon emission reductions and the selection of a single year, 2012, for establishing each state’s baseline. In Georgia, for instance, the EPA has already taken into account two proposed nuclear facilities that have yet to be constructed. The State of Georgia asserts that if Georgia Power experiences delays or… Read more
Tag: carbon dioxide
States Ask Court of Appeals to Block Proposed Carbon Standards for Power Plants
The attorneys general of nine states have filed an amicus brief in support of Murray Energy Company’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over proposed carbon dioxide limits on existing power plants. The brief, signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming, asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to issue an extraordinary writ blocking EPA’s proposed carbon standards. According to the brief, the rule as proposed violates the plain text of the Clean Air Act and would result in double regulation on existing power plants…. Read more
EPA Issues Statement Stating it is “On Track” to Issue Greenhouse Gas Rule for Existing Power Plants
The EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, stated on February 10 that it is “on track” to issue a proposed carbon dioxide emission standard for existing power plants in June of 2014. According to the EPA, generation of electricity is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 33% of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. According to McCarthy, the new rule will “…encourage clean energy investment that expands domestic industries and secures good paying jobs here in the United States, while making sure there is space for a diverse fuel supply.” For more information, contact Phillip Hoover or… Read more
POWER COMPANIES TELL OMB THAT THEIR MOST EFFICIENT PLANTS WOULD NOT MEET EPA PROPOSED CARBON STANDARDS
In a meeting with White House officials, representatives from Southern Co. informed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Council on Environmental Quality that a quarter of the most efficient, natural gas-fired power plants built over the past five years would not meet the proposed carbon dioxide emission standards. Materials presented to the OMB in the August 21 meeting showed that 15 of the 59 new natural gas power plants built since 2008 would not be able to comply with the proposed new source performance standard. The EPA and OMB have been meeting regularly with industry representatives and environmental… Read more
Court Dismisses Power Company Challenges to Proposed Carbon Limit
A federal appellate court dismisses challenges to EPA’s proposed carbon dioxide emissions limit for new fossil fuel-fired power plants filed by power industry representatives as premature. EPA’s proposed new source performance standard for carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants is “not final agency action subject to judicial review,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit says in an order granting EPA’s motion to dismiss the case. For more information, please contact Phillip Hoover or Josie Nackers.
THE EPA CAN NOW REGULATE GREENHOUSE GASES
The E.P.A. can now regulate greenhouse gases. A federal appeals court agreed with the E.P.A. that greenhouse gases endanger public health, which means that the agency has the authority to limit emissions under the Clean Air Act. This decision is a major blow to the coal industry. On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided that the Environmental Protection Agency (“E.P.A.”) was correct in its assertion that the Clean Air Act requires the federal government to impose limits on the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. In 2007, the E.P.A. argued that it did… Read more