The federal government issued the first-ever rule to regulate electric utility mercury emissions.
In 1990, the Clean Air Act (CAA) was amended to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broad discretion in determining how to regulate mercury emissions from power plants if necessary to protect against specific threats to public health caused by these emissions.
In a 2000 regulatory determination, EPA deemed it "appropriate
and necessary" to control mercury emissions from coal- and
oil-based utility generators. On December 15, 2003, EPA issued a
proposed rule targeting both mercury emissions from coal-based electricity
steam generating units and nickel emissions from oil-based units.
On March 15, 2005, EPA issued the final Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) for coal-based plants; the rule took effect on July 18, 2005. CAMR utilized a market-based cap-and-trade approach under section 111 of the CAA to require emission reductions in two phases: a cap of 38 tons in 2010, and 15 tons after 2018, for a total reduction of 70 percent from current levels. Facilities would demonstrate compliance with the standard by holding one "allowance" for each ounce of mercury emitted in any given year.
In addition to the CAMR, EPA published a final Agency action which reversed the regulatory finding that it issued in December 2000. In this action, EPA states that it is not appropriate or necessary to regulate coal- and oil-based power plants under section 112 of the CAA.
On February 8, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion in a case, which was initiated by 15 states and other groups, challenging the CAMR and EPA's decision to "delist" mercury as a hazardous air pollutant. The Court held that EPA's reversal of the December 2000 regulatory finding was unlawful. The Court vacated both the reversal and the CAMR, and sent the CAMR back to EPA for reconsideration.
As a result of the Court's decision, it is likely that EPA will develop a Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standard, which would require every oil- and coal-based power plant to install mercury-specific controls. A new EPA rulemaking could take several years to finalize and might not require emission reductions for more than five years.
Are electric utilities required to report their mercury
emissions?
How are electric utility mercury emissions regulated
by the federal government?
Will emissions trading cause mercury hotspots?
Are electric utilities required to report their
mercury emissions?
Yes.
The electric utility industry routinely discloses its mercury emissions
under the CAA. Section 114 of the CAA requires that all
electric utility steam-generating units provide information that
allows EPA to calculate the annual mercury emissions from each unit.
Furthermore, under the agency's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
program, electric utilities are required annually to report their
chemical releases for the public's general knowledge.
Since 2001, electric utilities, along with all other reporting
industries, have been reporting mercury emissions as part of their
annual TRI reporting. For more information on the TRI program, visit
www.epa.gov/tri.
How are electric utility mercury emissions regulated
by the federal government?
The CAA Amendments of 1990 authorize EPA to regulate
mercury emissions and other air toxics from electric utilities if
necessary to protect against specific threats to public health caused
by these emissions. On December 14, 2000, EPA announced it would
regulate mercury emissions from certain electric power plants.
In its 2000 regulatory determination, EPA deemed it "appropriate
and necessary" to control mercury emissions from coal- and
oil-based utility generators, although it acknowledged "there
is no quantification of how much of the methylmercury in fish consumed by the U.S. population is due to electric utility
emissions."
On December 15, 2003, EPA issued proposed mercury rules for coal- and oil-based power plants. On March 15, 2005, EPA issued the final Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR). CAMR for coal-based plants; the rule took effect on July 18, 2005. CAMR utilizes a market-based cap-and-trade approach under section 111 of the CAA that requires emission reductions in two phases: a cap of 38 tons in 2010, and 15 tons after 2018, for a total reduction of 70 percent from current levels.
Will emissions trading cause mercury hotspots?
Emissions
trading is a system of establishing a cap on emissions and allowing
sources (e.g., power plants) the flexibility to choose the emissions
reduction plan that works best for their situation. Trading allows
a source that can over-control its emissions to sell extra reduction
credits to another source for which controls would be prohibitively
expensive or technologically difficult to install.
A number of scientists and others have expressed the concern that
local "hotspots" would occur where emissions could increase
as a result of emissions trading. There is no evidence that hotspots
currently exist near coal-based power plants.
Based on many years of real-world experience, studies of the existing
SO2 allowance-trading program demonstrate that trading
did not significantly change where emissions reductions actually
occurred when compared to a command-and-control approach for reducing
emissions.
Although some sources would purchase credits instead of using controls
to reduce mercury, overall mercury emissions would still decline
due to the national cap on emissions, which needs to be met. Also,
emissions trading creates economic incentives, which bring about
the greatest reductions from the highest-emitting sources. A national
cap on mercury emissions would, therefore, work to ensure hotspots
do not occur.
Based on these reasons and comprehensive analysis, EPA has stated that the regulations to control mercury emissions from power plants will not result in local hotspots.
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