CCAN Applauds Historic New EPA Standards To Crack Down on Power-Plant Pollutants

CCAN Applauds Historic New EPA Rules to Crack Down on Power-Plant Pollutants

As the EPA finalizes new rules to put a stop to harmful fossil-fuel pollutants, climate activists look forward to the next steps

Washington, D.C. — On April 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a historic package of standards restricting pollution from fossil-fuel power plants throughout the nation. The new regulations require that existing coal and new gas power plants cut or capture 90% of their emissions, update and strengthen the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) limiting toxic metal contamination, and mandate safe disposal of coal ash and toxic wastewater. Climate activists celebrated the release of the new rules as a major victory for public health and clean energy.

Communities and families across America will benefit from EPA enacting these rules in a variety of ways including: 

  • The power plant carbon pollution rule is expected to prevent 360,000 cases of asthma symptoms in 2035 and prevent up to 1,200 premature deaths. 

  • The updated MATS regulations are projected to result in $130 million in climate benefits between 2028 and 2037. 

  • These rules will reduce a wide range of toxic pollutants like arsenic, selenium, and other heavy metals that can cause cancer; and harm to the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system. These rules will also reduce pollutants that lead to developmental delays, learning disabilities, and birth defects.

Quentin Scott, Federal Director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), made the following statement in response to the newly finalized rules: 

“Low-income communities and communities of color who disproportionately live near fossil fuel power plants have been waiting far too long. The fight to update these standards spanned multiple administrations but President Biden and Administrator Regan promised they would get it done– and now they did it! This is a big step in the right direction toward righting past wrongs done to environmental justice communities. We aren’t done, but days like these get us excited for the work to come.”

Unfortunately, not all utilities will look at these rules as an opportunity to change their business priorities, but instead see it as a last chance to saddle rate-payers with a financial boondoggle. They’ve already started. Dominion Energy has proposed a 1,000 MW gas plant in Chesterfield, Virginia and Duke Energy has proposed 10 new gas plants in their service territories. We’re ramping up our members and partners for the next phase of this fight for a cleaner, safer future.”

The package of EPA standards has now been finalized from the agency’s perspective. However, they are now subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to reverse agency standards. Senator Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia has already promised to file a motion in the coming weeks to reverse these rules. It’s unclear if U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will bring the motion for a vote.  

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Trump's Clean Power Plan Repeal is Shameful. But it Won't Stop Renewable Energy or Local Climate Action.

Statement by Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, in response to the Trump Administration’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan:

The decision of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to repeal the Clean Power Plan is another shocking move by the Trump Administration to deny climate change at the expense of residents across the Maryland, Virginia and DC region. Just after our country’s most devastating hurricane season tore through national shores, the last thing we need is to incentivize dirty climate-warming coal. Today’s decision further highlights the need of states like Maryland, Virginia and DC to push harder for clean energy while moving away from dirty fossil fuels. Pruitt’s EPA can’t stop the incredible growth of renewable energy or the rising grassroots resistance to Trump’s dirty energy agenda. Local- and state-based action has never been more important.

 
CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, 608-620-8819, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org

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Photo at the top from Flickr user Becker1999

EPA Releases Proposed Rule Requiring Natural Gas Processing Plants To Start Reporting Toxic Pollution

EPA RELEASES PROPOSED RULE REQUIRING NATURAL GAS PROCESSING PLANTS TO START REPORTING TOXIC POLLUTION

Proposal is a Victory for Open Government, Transparency, and the Public Right to Know
Washington, D.C. – In response to a petition by nineteen environmental and open-government groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released proposed regulations that will require natural gas processing plants to start publicly reporting the toxic chemicals they release.
“Today’s proposal by EPA marks significant progress for public health, the environment, and the right to know,” said Adam Kron, senior attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project.  “The oil and gas industry releases an enormous amount of toxic pollutants every year, and communities deserve to know what they’re facing.  We hope EPA will move swiftly to finalize and implement this simple yet vital public-reporting rule.”
The proposed regulations come in response to a 2012 petition filed by the Environmental Integrity Project and eighteen partner organizations.  The groups asked EPA to require facilities in the oil and gas extraction industry to report their toxic pollution to the federal Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), an online public database that has existed for thirty years and to which most other industries have long reported.
EIP’s co-petitioners are the Natural Resources Defense Council, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, CitizenShale, Clean Air Council, Clean Water Action, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Earthworks, Elected Officials to Protect New York, Environmental Advocates of New York, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, PennEnvironment, PennFuture, Powder River Basin Resource Council, Project on Government Oversight, Responsible Drilling Alliance, San Juan Citizens Alliance, Sierra Club, and Texas Campaign for the Environment.  The groups filed a lawsuit against EPA in January 2015 to compel EPA to respond to the petition, which the agency finally did in October 2015.
“This welcome step from EPA is long overdue,” said Amy Mall, senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council.  “People deserve to know what toxic chemicals are being released near their homes, schools and hospitals. Yet, for too long, the oil and gas industry has been exempt from rules that apply to other industries. We will hold the next administration accountable for putting an end to that special treatment.”
Under EPA’s proposed regulations, approximately 281 to 444 natural gas processing facilities across the U.S. would have to start reporting their releases of toxic chemicals, including xylenes (which can cause breathing problems, headaches, and neurological problems), formaldehyde (which is a carcinogen and damages the respiratory system), and benzene (which can cause cancer).   Not included in EPA’s decision are well sites, compressor stations, pipelines, and other smaller facilities that employ fewer than 10 people.
The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register this morning, and can be found here.
“The oil and gas industry knows its polluting our neighborhoods,” said Aaron Mintzes, Policy Advocate for Earthworks. “EPA isn’t proposing to make them stop, just requiring these companies to let people know about toxic pollution released near their homes, schools, and workplaces. And while this rule would cover just natural gas processing plants, by the time they finalize this rule, EPA should also add the well heads, pipelines, compressor stations and other oil and gas infrastructure.”
In support of its proposed rule, EPA has stated that there are 517 natural gas processing facilities in the lower-48 states as of 2012 (a subsequent estimate found 551 facilities in 2014), and more than half of these plants would meet the Toxics Release Inventory’s chemical reporting thresholds for twenty-one different toxic chemicals, including benzene (a carcinogen), hydrogen sulfide, n-hexane, and methanol.
Congress established the Toxics Release Inventory in 1986 to inform the public about the release of sometimes carcinogenic chemicals (such as benzene) from industries in the wake of the deadly 1984 Bhopal disaster in India, in which toxic gases killed thousands of local residents.
In 2012, EPA estimated that the oil and gas extraction industry emits at least 127,000 tons of hazardous air pollutants every year, all of which are TRI-listed chemicals.  Based on these estimates, the oil and gas extraction industry releases more toxic pollution to the air than any other industry except for power plants.
The Energy Information Administration’s website provides a current listing of natural gas processing facilities across the U.S.
QUOTES FROM ORGANIZATIONS THAT PETITIONED OR SUED EPA:
Anne Havemann, General Counsel at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network: “The public has a right to know when toxic and harmful pollution is released, and this right does not end at fracked-gas processing facilities.  We’re glad to see EPA acknowledge that right with today’s proposed rule.”
George Jugovic, Jr., Vice President of Legal Affairs at PennFuture:  “EPA’s decision to add natural gas processing plants to the Toxics Release Inventory will add critically needed information about the level of toxic chemicals being released by an industry that generally seems adverse to informing the public about the potential health risks of living near these facilities.  The only way for state and local governments to make informed decisions about protecting public health is to increase transparency about the nature and level of toxic chemicals being released by the shale gas industry. This is an important step forward to protecting and informing citizens and their families.”
Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council: “A true victory for the many residents of Pennsylvania that live in gas shale areas. They have suffered from this polluting industry for years. The gas industry has been far too secretive about its toxic emissions.”
 
CONTACT:
Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project
(443) 510-2574
tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org