"With the issuance of the final rule today, we are returning to the commonsense standard that has applied throughout most of the history of New Source Review," said EEI President Thomas R. Kuhn. "Today's regulations will lift a major cloud of uncertainty, boosting our efforts to provide affordable, reliable electric service and cleaner air."
Kuhn noted that for the past several years, power companies have faced an uncertain and sometimes hostile regulatory environment in which even the most routine power plant maintenance practices or efficiency improvements are called into question. "We are pleased that electric companies will be able to get on with doing the job they do best -- generating the electricity that powers our economy and way of life," Kuhn said.
The Clean Air Act's New Source Review program requires power companies and other industrial facilities to install advanced emission controls when undertaking major modifications that would significantly increase emissions. Though EPA before today had never issued clear guidance as to how these requirements should be carried out, the agency for more than 20 years implemented and enforced the program in a commonsense manner.
In other words, EPA allowed power companies to perform routine maintenance, repairs, efficiency improvements, and other activities that did not result in a significant emissions increase.
In 1999, however, EPA abandoned its historic enforcement practices and, without warning, reinterpreted the NSR program to prohibit the very same routine activities the agency until then had condoned. This unprecedented enforcement action has subjected several power companies to federal lawsuits -- which have resulted in contradictory judicial rulings -- making the clarifications provided by today's rule all the more imperative.
With respect to the regulation's impact on air quality, Kuhn said the new rule would facilitate the industry's ongoing efforts to reduce emissions.
The nation's air quality has improved significantly -- and power plants have reduced emissions dramatically -- under the Clean Air Act. The power sector has cut sulfur dioxide emissions by about 40% so far, and will achieve a similar level of reduction in nitrogen oxides in 2004.
Power plants are guaranteed to continue to cut emissions in the future, whether through existing Clean Air Act programs or through new legislative requirements. Consistent with this goal, today's NSR regulations will encourage efficiency improvements at power plants, allowing generators to produce electricity using less fuel, resulting in lower emissions.
"Americans deserve a reliable supply of electricity and continuing air quality improvements," Kuhn said. "These new regulations are vital to achieving these goals."
