Following a failure of the dike at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee which received national attention, the Obama Administration announced it would re-evaluate regulation of coal combustion residuals (CCR) or coal ash.
The Administration’s key decision was whether to regulate CCR under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as
According to a new Government Accounting Office (GAO) report released in September, actual and planned retirements of coal-fired power plants has accelerated due to new U.S. EPA rules and regulations and other market forces.
Back in 2012, GAO performed an analysis of projected closure of coal plants due to four new EPA rules:
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On June 2, 2014, U.S. EPA released its Clean Power Plan Proposal to address carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants. EPA continues to move forward with climate change initiatives as gridlock in Congress persists over the issue. EPA’s strategy has been to target transportation and the power sector, the two largest sources
On August 21st, the D.C. Circuit Court vacated U.S. EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) also known at the "Transport Rule." This is not the first time EPA has had its power plant pollution reduction rule vacated. The Transport Rule was the replacement to the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) which was also struck down
On March 28th, U.S. EPA released its highly controversial rulemaking which establishes a carbon dioxide (CO2) emission limit on new coal-fired power plants. All future coal-fired power plants will have to utilize an unproven technology, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), to meet the emission limits. CCS involves capturing CO2 and injecting it deep beneath the earth’s
U.S. EPA finally issued its long awaited air pollution regulation aimed at reducing mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants- Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). MATS sets specific numeric emission standards for mercury and other air toxics from coal-fire power plants 25 megawatts in size or larger.
MATS will apply to some 1,400 generating units across
Ohio State Senator Kris Jordan (R-Powell) introduced Senate Bill 216 which would repeal Ohio’s renewable portfolio standard ("RPS"). The RPS requires that the state’s electric utilities provide 25% of their retail energy supply from advanced and renewable energy sources such as clean coal, wind, and solar energy by 2025.
Ohio enacted the RPS in 2009.
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court released their opinion in AEP v. Connecticut in which the Court held that the Clean Air Act ("CAA") and the EPA actions on regulating greenhouse gas emissions displaced any federal common-law right to seek greenhouse gas emission reductions. The suit was filed by Eastern States and non-profit land groups against coal-fired power plants in
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The Obama Administration announced it would review the revised ozone standard of .75 ppb that was previously established by the Bush Administration. The Obama Administration has said if they decide to revise the ozone standard below .75 ppb they will announce it by December of 2009 and finalize the standard by August 2010.
As reported
Small businesses are deeply concerned with the economic impacts of the proposed cap-and-trade legislation currently pending in Congress. Although small businesses will not be covered by the cap, if a price is placed on carbon, small businesses will feel the economic impact through energy price increases. This is particularly true in the Midwest which is heavily