“A Common Sense Approach to Power Plant Emissions "

(As Published in the Virginia-Pilot on May 13, 2004

Attorney General Jerry Kilgore came under attack recently from environmental groups. They object to his support of the Bush administration's decision to scrap Clinton-era rules, which required that almost any modification to an older coal-fueled power plant be accompanied by the installation of the best available pollution controls.

To his credit, Kilgore joined attorneys general in ten other states who have filed as interveners in federal appeals court in support of the administration's proposed changes to "New Source Review" provisions of the Clean Air Act. The changes will make it easier for utilities to both modernize their plants and increase electricity production.

Some environmentalists are throwing a fit. They insist that the changes will undermine efforts to reduce airborne emissions from coal plants in the South and Midwest.

The Bush policy, however, does no such thing. It will improve air quality by encouraging the installation of more efficient turbines, computer-controlled fuel systems and other modern equipment.

The policy simply restores review provisions to the way the cleanup program worked when it was established two decades ago. New Source Review dates back to the 1970s' Clean Air Act, when Congress wrote rules to ensure that new power plants be equipped with the latest in pollution-control technology. Congress did not intend for existing plants (which were already subject to emission caps) to make the upgrade.

What happened is that the Clinton administration, angry that the utilities weren't voluntarily capping emissions beyond what the law required, retroactively rewrote the rules. The Environmental Protection Agency suddenly decided that routine maintenance or repairs like replacing a turbine blade constituted "major modification," triggering New Source Review and requiring the installation of expensive scrubbers.

In fact, companies were targeted for ordinary maintenance and repairs that did not increase emissions. Dozens of utilities were hauled into court for past actions, many of which had been done with the approval of regulators.

Many companies have been deferring maintenance for fear of new legal challenges, posing a threat to the nation's electricity supply. Here in Virginia and nationally, coal provides 52 percent of the electricity. If companies are unable to maintain reliable and safe electric service without being subject to the threat of federal government lawsuits, there could be serious failures in the power grid.

The Bush Administration has wisely decided to clarify the New Source Review rules so that utilities can repair their facilities. Lest anyone think that the administration is weakening the Clean Air Act, it has gone further in regulating some pollutants than anything the Clinton administration ever did.

The Bush administration's "Clear Skies" initiative calls for a 70 percent reduction in emissions of mercury as well as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, using a proven and far better market-based approach than command-and-control decrees from Washington regulators. It allows utilities to buy and to trade "pollution credits." Companies that have exceeded the targets can sell their surplus to those utilities that have failed to meet the minimum requirements.

This market-based approach will give companies an opportunity to apply innovative technologies to their own market advantage. After all, the market itself tends to push companies in the direction of cleaner options.

EPA data shows that in the utility sector, emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides have declined substantially since 1980 despite a tripling of coal use. The bottom line is that power-plant emissions will continue to decline.

Companies will be able to ratchet down emission levels from the very same power plants that have been absurdly accused of not doing enough.

This wise approach, one embraced by Attorney General Kilgore, will allow coal plants to replace antiquated equipment, not stand in the way of improvements that boost efficiency and improve air quality.

J. Winston Porter is president of the Waste Policy Center in Leesburg, Virginia. He formerly was an assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Dr. Porter is president of the Waste Policy Center, an evnironmental consulting and communications organizations based in Leesburg, VA. From 1985 to 1989, he was the EPA assistant administrator with responsibility for Superfund and other waste programs.