New power plant pollution limits aim to protect communities and climate > Appalachian Voices

Four rules developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency late last month will curb pollution from power plants, reducing climate-changing emissions, protecting the health of nearby communities and accelerating the transition to renewable energy.

Rules:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants
• Setting new wastewater disposal standards for coal-fired power plants
• Expanding cleanup requirements to hundreds of old coal ash landfills across the country
• Tighten limits on mercury and other airborne toxicants emitted by power plants

“Today’s announcement by the Biden-Harris administration marks a huge victory for the country – and especially for the communities whose residents have suffered and struggled for decades with the effects of power plant pollution,” Tom Cormons, executive director of Appalachian Voices, said after the legislation was released. “We applaud the administration for finalizing this rule that requires companies to reduce and clean up pollution that has been a drag on people and the planet for too long. “This should cause monopoly utilities to rethink their plans to spend billions of their customers’ dollars on polluting gas-fired power plants and instead favor clean and renewable energy investments that save people money while creating good jobs.”

Under the new rules, coal-fired power plants will have to reduce or capture 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions under emissions rules if they plan to remain open beyond 2039. New gas plants will also have to cut or capture 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032.

Carbon capture and storage is an expensive technology. However, utilities don’t have to go down this path – to ensure affordable and clean energy, utilities should instead use proven, low-cost, and highly reliable renewable energy technologies.

EPA’s new coal ash regulations will ensure that hundreds of coal ash landfills exempt from previous regulations designed to protect communities from spills and catastrophic failures of coal ash dams will have to meet monitoring, closure and cleanup requirements. Previously, coal ash landfills at plants that were no longer producing energy, or landfills that were not accepting new waste, were exempt from federal coal ash regulations.

Coal-fired power plants use a lot of water, including to generate steam to turn turbines and clean chimney scrubbers. The wastewater produced in the process is contaminated with many toxic elements, including mercury, arsenic, selenium, lead and bromide. The new rule requires coal-fired power plants to upgrade wastewater treatment systems to remove these pollutants.

By revealing the true costs of fossil fuel pollution, regulations should also accelerate the transition to reliable and cheap renewable energy.

“In the South, where the Tennessee Valley Authority and Duke Energy are sharing the legacy of major coal ash spills and also accelerating construction of two of the nation’s largest gas-fired power plants, these new rules will be transformative for communities burdened by costly, polluting and unreliable energy systems.” said Public Energy Campaign Director Bri Knisley. “People in our region deserve clean air, safe workplaces, reliable and affordable electricity, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules take us much closer to that promising future.”

In addition to greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and all its negative effects, coal-fired power plants also emit mercury and other toxic metals. The fourth rule finalized last month further tightens mercury and air toxics standards for coal-fired power plants, reducing mercury emissions by up to 70%.

Collectively, these rules aim to ensure that utilities can no longer burden local residents with the costs of their pollution, who will ultimately pay for health damages, or society as a whole to pay for the impacts of climate change. This legislation will lead to multi-billion dollar public health benefits, saving thousands of lives and reducing asthma attacks and other pollution-related illnesses.

“We are excited about the new clean energy jobs these policies will help Appalachian communities,” said Chelsea Barnes, director of government affairs and strategy. “We know these policies mean a massive transformation for workers in the coal and natural gas industries, but with the incentives in the bipartisan Infrastructure Act and Inflation Reduction Act to invest in communities and create good clean energy jobs, we are more than ready continue our work to help with this transformation.”