Strict new EPA rules would force coal-fired power plants to capture emissions or shut down

WASHINGTON – Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency.

New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-powered power plants are the Biden administration’s most ambitious effort yet to reduce planet-warming pollution from the energy sector, the country’s second-largest contributor. for climate change. The rules are a key part of President Joe Biden’s commitment to eliminate carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and the entire economy by 2050.

The rule was among four measures aimed at coal and natural gas plants that the EPA said would provide “regulatory certainty” to the energy industry and encourage it to make investments to transition “to a clean energy economy.” The measures include requirements to reduce toxic pollutants in wastewater from coal-fired power plants and to safely manage coal ash in unlined storage tanks.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the rules will reduce pollution and improve public health while supporting the long-term, reliable supply of electricity that America needs.

“One of the greatest environmental challenges facing our nation is man-made pollution, which damages our air, our water and our land,” Regan said in a speech at Howard University. pushing our planet to the limit.”

Regan called the power plant rules “a watershed moment” for her agency as it works to “build a cleaner, healthier future for us all.”

The plan will likely be challenged by industry groups and Republican-leaning states. They have repeatedly accused the Democratic administration of overreaching on environmental regulations and warned of a looming electricity grid reliability crisis. The rules issued Thursday are among at least half a dozen EPA rules that limit power plant emissions and wastewater pollution.

Environmental groups hailed the EPA’s latest action as urgently needed to protect against the devastating harms of climate change.

The power plant rule marks the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. The rule would also force future coal- or gas-fired power plants to control up to 90% of their carbon pollution. The new standards will prevent 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution by 2047, equivalent to the annual emissions of 328 million gasoline cars, the EPA said, and will provide hundreds of billions of dollars in measured climate and health benefits. in fewer premature deaths. cases of asthma and days missed at work or school.

Coal plants that plan to remain open beyond 2039 will have to reduce or capture 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2032, the EPA said. Factories expected to be decommissioned by 2039 would face less stringent standards but would still have to capture some emissions. Coal plants due to be decommissioned by 2032 will not be subject to the new rules.

Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, said that through the latest rules, “EPA is systematically dismantling the reliability of the U.S. power grid.”

He accused Biden, Regan and other officials of “ignoring our energy reality and forcing the closure of well-functioning coal plants that repeatedly come to the rescue during periods of peak demand. The repercussions of this reckless plan will be felt across the country by all Americans.”

Regan denied that the rules were aimed at shutting down the coal sector, but acknowledged, when proposing the power plant rule last year, that “we will see some coal retirements.”

The proposal is based on technologies to limit carbon pollution that the industry itself says are viable and available, Regan said. “Several energy companies have indicated that (carbon capture and storage) is a viable technology for the energy sector today, and they are currently developing these CCS projects,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Coal provided about 16% of U.S. electricity last year, down from about 45% in 2010. Natural gas provides about 43% of U.S. electricity, with the rest coming from nuclear power and renewables such as wind, solar and hydroelectric.

Dan Brouillette, president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, which represents U.S. investor-owned electric companies, said he was “disappointed” that the EPA “has not addressed the concerns we raised about carbon capture and storage.” the technology “is not yet ready for large-scale deployment across the economy,” said Brouillette, who served as energy secretary in President Donald Trump’s administration.

The rules initially included measures to reduce emissions from existing natural gas plants, but Regan delayed that aspect of the rules until at least next year, saying he wanted to address complaints from environmental justice groups that the previous plan allowed too much toxic air pollution. which disproportionately harms low-income neighborhoods near power plants, refineries and other industrial facilities.

Still, the rules issued Thursday complete “a historic grand slam” of important actions by the Biden administration to reduce carbon pollution, said David Doniger, a climate and clean energy expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council. passage of the 2022 climate law, officially known as the Reducing Inflation Act, he said, followed by separate EPA rules targeting car and truck exhaust emissions and methane emissions from oil and gas drilling.

Together, the climate law and the EPA ruleset “are the largest reductions in carbon pollution we have ever made and will put the country on the path to net-zero carbon emissions,” Doniger said.

The nation still faces challenges in eliminating carbon from transportation, heavy industry and more, said Abigail Dillen, president of the environmental group Earthjustice, “but we can’t make progress on any of that without cleaning up power plants.”

Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, called the EPA rule “illegal, unrealistic and unattainable,” adding that it faced a certain legal challenge. The rule disregards the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that limited the agency’s ability to regulate carbon pollution under the Clean Air Act, Matheson said.

“This barrage of new EPA rules ignores our country’s ongoing electric reliability challenges and is the wrong approach at a critical time for our country’s energy future,” said Matheson, whose association represents 900 local electric cooperatives across the country.

EPA rules would not mandate the use of equipment to capture and store carbon emissions — a technology that is expensive and still in development. Instead, the agency would set limits on carbon dioxide pollution that plant operators would have to meet. Some natural gas plants could begin blending gas with other non-carbon fuel sources, although specific actions would be left up to the industry.

Still, the regulation is expected to lead to greater use of carbon capture equipment. Only a few projects are in operation in the country, despite years of research.

The EPA also strengthened rules aimed at reducing wastewater pollution from coal-fired power plants and preventing damage from toxic coal ash pits, a residual byproduct of burning coal.

Coal ash contains carcinogens such as arsenic and mercury that can leach into soil, drinking water and nearby rivers and streams, harming people and killing fish. Waste is commonly stored in lagoons near power plants. The EPA issued rules in 2015 to regulate new and active ponds at operating facilities, seven years after a disaster in Kingston, Tennessee, that flooded two rivers with toxic waste and destroyed property.

Environmental groups challenged this rule, arguing that it left a large amount of coal ash waste unregulated by the federal government. The rule issued Thursday requires property owners to safely close inactive coal ash ponds and clean up the contamination.

A separate rule will reduce toxic wastewater pollution by 660 million pounds annually, according to federal officials. It’s a reversal of the Republican Trump administration’s effort to loosen wastewater standards from coal plants.

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This story has been corrected to show that the Edison Electric Institute CEO’s last name is Brouillette, not Brouilette.

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Associated Press writer Michael Phillis in St. Louis contributed to this story.

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