Rule rollback lets power plants go full steam
The emissions standards for the sub-category of electric utility steam generating units, which use fluidized bed boilers to burn eastern bituminous coal refuse left behind from generations of local mining, are:
--Hydrochloric acid (HCl): 4.0 pounds per million British thermal units or 4.0 pounds per megawatt-hour
--Sulfur dioxide (SO2): 6.0 pounds per million British thermal units or 9.0 pounds per megawatt-hour
For context, the 2012 MATS emission level for SO2 was set at 2.0 pounds per million British thermal units, according to the
Another local plant, the
"The
Supporters of the modified standards contend that creating the sub-category will allow the plants to remain operational, thereby supplying jobs and providing an environmental benefit by removing the piles of waste coal, while not requiring costly upgrades to the facilities.
"In order to comply with MATS, as far as the acid gas portion of the MATS rule, we would have had to increase the amount of limestone in the boiler by like 50%," said
"But to go up that little incremental amount means about another 50% limestone injection into the boiler, like another 100,000 tons of limestone a year, which is just not inexpensive to do that."
"They're the biggest polluters in the county by far," Ewall said.
Local, state and federal elected officials have, for years, supported modifying the standards for the refuse plants. Former
"It's precisely the customized regulation that we were looking for," Rothfus said during a telephone interview.
"This idea that one size fits all was the mantra under the
The plants, in Rothfus' opinion, provide an important environmental benefit by helping reduce boney pile coal that can pollute water and burn uncontrolled if caught on fire.
"It's gratifying to see that they finally acted and we can continue to have these jobs in
State Rep.
"This
"This is a fight I led in the
"Given
Joyce said the new policy is "an important step to strengthen America's energy independence."
Wheeler, in a press release statement, said, "While fixing this technical issue proved too complex or insignificant for the Obama-Biden Administration, President (Donald)
Ewall considers the specific guidelines for the facilities, which include
"The more corporate control there is over the government, the more you tend to see the public health not be protected when it comes to pollution issues in particular," Ewall said. "We see that, of course, a lot under Trump's
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