A new rule from the EPA that seeks to limit pollution that originates in one state but affects others as well should have a big effect on Texas.
The rule, which covers 27 states and the District of Columbia, will require aging plants to be upgraded with modern equipment to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Some companies might close their plants rather than install the pollution controls.
Gov. Rick Perry criticized the rule as “heavy-handed and misguided,” while U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said it is “another blow” to Texas by the Environmental Protection Agency that could threaten jobs and the affordability of electricity.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said those fears were exaggerated, particularly in Texas, where some already have moved to clean up their coal-fired plants.
“Texas has an ample range of cost-effective emission reduction options for complying with the requirements of this rule without threatening reliability or the continued operation of coal-burning units,” Jackson said.
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The Texas Public Utility Commission estimated that the standard could force 18 plants – many of which were built in the 1970s – to install expensive equipment, change fuel or prematurely retire.
Last month, San Antonio’s city-owned utility pledged to shutter its coal-fired plant by 2018 rather than install a $550 million scrubber to cut pollution. CPS Energy said the money would be better used toward newer forms of energy, including natural gas and solar.
Environmentalists said state officials and industry should not be surprised by the new standards. The Bush administration proposed a similar action, known as the Clean Air Interstate Rule. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the EPA to revise the rule in 2008 after deciding the agency had overstepped its authority.
You know what that means: More litigation from the usual dirty-air-loving suspects. As such, I don’t know if the new rule, now known as the Cross State Air Pollution Rule, will ever be enforced. Sure seems to me to be the sort of thing for which federal authority is needed, but what do I know? Texas Vox and the Texas Green Report have more.