Setting the Stage: The Clean Air Act’s Opportunities and Challenges

Setting the Stage: The Clean Air
Act’s Opportunities and
Challenges
NACAA, NARUC, NASEO Meeting:
Environmental Protection & Clean, Reliable Energy;
Governments Working Together
July 9, 2012
Bill Becker, NACAA
What I Will Cover

Background on Air Quality and Emissions

EPA Air Rules Affecting the Power Industry

Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)

Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)

CO2 Emissions Standards for New Power Plants

GHG Permitting

Regional Haze

National Ambient Air Quality Standards
The Clean Air Act is Working
The Clean Air Act Has Prevented a Huge Number of
Premature Deaths and Other Adverse Health Effects
Health Effects Reduction
(PM2.5 & Ozone Only)
Pollutant (s)
Year 2010
Year 2020
PM2.5 Adult Mortality
PM
160,000
230,000
PM2.5 Infant Mortality
PM
230
280
Ozone Mortality
Ozone
4,300
7,100
Chronic Bronchitis
PM
54,000
75,000
Acute Bronchitis
PM
130,000
180,000
Acute Myocardial Infarction
PM
130,000
200,000
Asthma Exacerbation
PM
1,700,000
2,400,000
Hospital Admissions
PM, Ozone
86,000
135,000
Emergency Room Visits
PM, Ozone
86,000
120,000
Restricted Activity Days
PM, Ozone
84,000,000
110,000,000
School Loss Days
Ozone
3,200,000
5,400,000
Lost Work Days
PM
13,000,000
17,000,000
Air Quality is Improving at the Same
Time Our Economy Has Expanded
However, Millions of People are Still Exposed
to Unhealthful Levels of Air Pollution
Location of Coal- and Oil-Fired Power Plants
MATS covers
approximately1,400 coaland oil-fired units > 25
MW at about 600 power
plants nationwide
Mercury and Air Toxics
Standards
Fish Advisories for Mercury are Everywhere
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

On December 16, 2011, EPA issued final standards to reduce emissions of
mercury and other toxic air pollutants from new and existing coal- and oilfired power plants greater than 25 megawatts


These standards will require facilities to reduce:

Metals, including mercury, arsenic, chromium and nickel

Acid gases, including hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride, and

Particulate matter
New sources will have to install state of the art technology, while existing
sources must achieve the average of the top 12% performing facilities

Currently, 40% of EGUs do not have advanced pollution control technology
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

These sources will need to install technologies that are generally
proven and widely available

Expected measures needed to comply include:

Mercury – Selective Catalytic Reduction, Scrubbers, Activated Carbon Injection

Non-Hg Metals – Fabric Filters (FF), Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP)

Acid Gases – Scrubbers, Dry Sorbent Injection, DSI with FF or ESP

Dioxins and Furans – Work Practice Standards

Sulfur Dioxide – Scrubbers, Dry Sorbent Injection

Retirements – EPA expects retirements to be less than 4.7 GW (out of 1000 GW
of total EGU capacity) by 2015 – less than ½ of 1%
Compliance Deadlines

The Clean Air Act provides sources three years to comply
with the MATS standards

The Act also provides additional flexibilities for sources
needing more time

Allows state and local agencies to issue a permit providing one more
year, where necessary, for the installation of controls

A source may also be granted an additional (5th) year to comply if it
qualifies for an Administrative Order under Section 113
Cross State Air Pollution
Rule (CSAPR)
Background on CSAPR

EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) on 5/12/05

In 2008, the D.C. Circuit remanded CAIR to EPA, leaving existing
programs in place while directing the agency to address certain
legal deficiencies

EPA proposed CSAPR on 7/6/10 and finalized the rule on 7/6/11

EPA proposed a supplemental rule on 7/6/11 adding five additional
states in the ozone season NOx program; the rule was finalized on
12/15/11

CSAPR was scheduled to replace CAIR on 1/1/2012; however, on
12/30/2011 the D.C. Circuit stayed the CSAPR rule pending
judicial review
What CSAPR Does

Requires 23 states to reduce annual SO2 and NOx emissions to help
downwind areas attain the PM2.5 NAAQS

Requires 25 states to reduce ozone season NOx emissions to help
downwind areas attain the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS (84 parts per billion)

Emissions reductions were proposed to take effect on 1/1/2012 for SO2 and
annual NOx, and 5/1/2012 for ozone season NOx

EPA will need to tighten CSAPR in the future to address 1) the more
stringent existing ozone standard (75 ppb), 2) a possible tightening of the
ozone standard in 2014 (CASAC recommended 60-70 ppb) and 3) the
recently proposed more stringent PM2.5 standard; additionally, the
geographic area of CSAPR may need to be expanded accordingly
States Covered By CSAPR
Anticipated Emissions Reductions
10
9
Million Tons
8
2005 Actual Emissions
7
6
5
2012 Cross-State Air
Pollution Rule Emissions
4
3
2014 Cross-State Air
Pollution Rule Emissions
2
1
0
SO2
Annual NOX
Ozone-Season NOX
CO2 Emissions Standards for
New Power Plants
Background on EPA’s Proposal

Power plants are the largest source of GHGs

In response to a court settlement, EPA proposed New
Source Performance Standards (NSPS) on 4/13/2012
pursuant to authority under Section 111 of the CAA that will
cover CO2 emissions from Electric Generating Units (EGUs)

Section 111(b) requires EPA to regulate new and modified
sources

Section 111(d) requires EPA to regulate existing sources for
which standards are promulgated under Section 111(b)
What EPA’s NSPS Proposal Does


EPA’s proposal applies to:

Fossil-fuel-fired boilers

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) units

Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) units

Simple Cycle turbines
The proposal does not apply to:

Existing sources, including “modifications” and “reconstructions”

New units with permits that start construction within 12 months of EPA’s proposal

“Transitional” units – New units with permits that start construction within 12
months of EPA’s proposal and DOE demonstration projects that start
construction within 12 months of the proposal
What EPA’s Proposal Does (con’t)

New fossil-fueled-fired power plants must meet an output-based standard
of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour

EPA believes that almost all NGCC units built since 1995 will be able to
meet the standard without add-on controls

EGUs using coal or petroleum coke that use Carbon Capture and
Sequestration have the option of phasing in compliance

For the first 10 years, these sources would be required to meet an
annual rate of 1,800 lbs/MWh

For the next 20 years, these sources would need to meet a rate of
600 lbs/MWh
A Word About “Existing” Sources

EPA has not proposed standards for existing sources






EPA is required to establish emissions guidelines for existing sources under
Section 111(d) of the CAA
Guidelines include targets based on demonstrated controls, emission
reductions, costs and expected timeframes for installation and compliance
Guidelines can be less stringent than the requirements for new sources
States use the emission guidelines to develop plans for reducing emissions
from existing sources; states can take into account remaining useful life of
source
EPA has the authority to prescribe a plan for a state in cases where the state
fails to submit a satisfactory plan and to enforce the provisions of a plan in
cases where the state fails to enforce them
Several states are seeking a process by which EPA would deem their GHGreduction programs “equivalent” to the EPA emissions guidelines
GHG Permitting

GHG permitting requirements took effect January 2, 2011; apply only to the
largest stationary sources of GHG emissions

Most state and local agencies have authority to issue permits covering
GHGs; for those that do not, EPA is issuing the GHG portion of permits
under temporary federal authority

EPA estimates that as of December 1, 2011, 18 construction permits
containing GHG requirements had been issued and an additional 50
applications with GHG elements had been received (all industrial sectors)

Energy efficiency has been the standard control technology thus far

Should be expressed using numerical limits for carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)

Other technologies, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), need to be
considered and evaluated, but may be eliminated as infeasible
GHG Permitting

On March 8, 2012, EPA issue a proposed rule under Step 3 of the
GHG Tailoring Rule; EPA finalize this rule on 6/29

EPA is retaining the current GHG permitting thresholds of 100,000 /
75,000 tons per year CO2e for Step 3, rather than lower it to 50,000
tons; covers only the largest sources of GHG emissions

EPA is also streamlining approaches for GHG permitting

Clean Air Act Advisory Committee GHG Permit Streamlining
Workgroup recently set up with representatives from EPA, state and
local permitting authorities, tribes, environmental groups, and industry;
will identify and evaluate potential streamlining approaches
Regional Haze






In 1999, EPA published a regional haze rule establishing a visibility protection
program for Class I federal areas – 156 national parks and wilderness areas
States required to develop and implement SIPs to reduce pollution that impairs
visibility
SIPs were to include determinations of Best Available Retrofit Technology
(BART) and long-term strategies to ensure reasonable progress toward
achieving national regional haze goal
 Specific focus on EGUs built between 1962 and 1977
 Option of adopting emissions trading program or other alternative, as long
as it provides greater reasonable progress than BART
SIPs were due to EPA in 2007; many were incomplete or not submitted
Now, nearly all have been submitted
EPA recently agreed to a schedule, set forth in consent decree, to take action on
45 regional haze SIPs
National Ambient Air Quality Standards

Ozone

EPA proposed to strengthen 2008 ozone NAAQS in January 2010; decided last fall not to
finalize new standard but to wait for next review (proposal expected late 2013)


States now working to implement 2008 ozone NAAQS (75 ppb)

Designation of areas to be final by May 31, 2012

States must submit SIPs (state strategies) to EPA for approval

Deadlines by which states are required to meet standard range from 2015 to 2032
Sulfur Dioxide

EPA promulgated new standard in 2010; circulated draft implementation guidance in Sept 2011,
which was controversial because it relied on modeling to supplement scant monitoring network

EPA recently announced it would allow area designations and infrastructure SIPs to move
forward based on monitoring alone and will work with states and other stakeholders on whether
there is a reasonable way to use modeling to supplement monitoring for purposes of
determining attainment
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Implementation Milestones
(as of April 2012)
Attainment
Demonstration
Due
Attainment
Date
Oct 2009
Dec 2012
Dec 2014/2019
Dec 2010/2011
Oct 2011
June 2012/2013
Dec 2015/2016
Jan 2010
Feb 2012
Jan 2013
none
none
June 2010
TBD
June 2013
TBD
TBD
March 2008
Mid 2012
March 2011
2015
2015-2032
Intended
June 2013
2015
June 2016
2018
2020/2025
2019
2019-2036 28
NAAQS
Promulgation
Designations
Effective
Oct 2006
Dec 2009
Pb
Oct 2008
NO2
Pollutant
PM2.5
(2006)
(primary)
SO2
(primary)
Ozone
(2008)
PM2.5
(current
review)
110(a) SIPs
Due
(3 yrs after
NAAQS
promulgation)
Ozone
(current
review)
2014
2016material -- do not
2017
Pre-decisional
quote or cite
28
For Further Information

Contact:
 Bill
Becker, Executive Director, NACAA
 202-624-7864
 becker@4cleanair.org