EPA delays carbon dioxide rule until mid-summer

Final federal regulations to control carbon dioxide emissions from new, modified and existing electric generating units will be delayed until mid-summer, the Environmental Protection Agency said Jan. 7.

NRECA CEO Jo Ann Emerson said EPA should use the extra time to study the 1.2 million comments that flooded the agency from advocates for electric cooperatives concerned about the proposals’ impact on affordable, reliable electricity.

“We hope the EPA will be using this additional time to consider, thoughtfully and carefully, the numerous comments on proposed greenhouse gas limits for new, modified and existing power plants,” Emerson said. “If the final rules look anything like the proposed rules, a delay will do nothing to soften their impact on American families and businesses.”

The arctic weather now punishing the Midwest and East Coast “reminds us that affordable electricity is vital for families, especially low-income families, across the nation,” said Emerson. “By continuing along the course it has set, EPA puts affordability and reliability at risk.”

Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, noted that the proposed rules targeting emissions from coal-based power plants attracted more than four-million public comments. “A lot of very thoughtful and good suggestions have come in and we’ll work through those,” she said.

Source: Electric Co-op Today Cathy Cash