September 1, 2011

Critics Get Crossways with New Cross-State Air Rule

By Angela Neville, JD

From the East Coast to the Lone Star State, a number of elected officials and power industry representatives are bashing the new aggressive regulation aimed at controlling specific power plant emissions.

Complying with a federal court mandate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) on July 6. The new standard requires 27 states to reduce power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and/or fine particle pollution in other states. Barring a court challenge, the new rule will begin taking effect as soon as early 2012 and be fully in place by 2014. It’s aimed at slashing power plant pollution that drifts across state borders and prevents downwind states from achieving ozone and particulate matter standards. The EPA said that by 2014 the CSAPR rule and other EPA and state actions will cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 73%, and trim nitrogen oxides emissions by 54%, below 2005 levels.

The new rule replaces the EPA’s 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which was issued under former President George W. Bush and rejected in 2008 by a federal court that said its trading provisions wouldn’t adequately protect communities against pollution blowing in from nearby states. The court allowed CAIR to remain in place temporarily while the agency worked to finalize this replacement rule.

“These Clean Air Act safeguards will help protect the health of millions of Americans and save lives by preventing smog and soot pollution from traveling hundreds of miles and contaminating the air they breathe,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

By 2014, utilities are projected to spend $800 million annually on additional emissions controls, combined with $1.6 billion per year in capital investments already under way when CAIR was issued, according to the EPA. The agency also estimates that the improved air quality resulting from the CSAPR will result in $120 billion to $280 billion in annual health benefits.