The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Thursday that it would delay imposing rules to curb emissions from existing gas-fired power plants, drawing mixed reactions from environmental groups.
The EPA said that it will proceed with finalizing rules to curb emissions from coal-fired power plants and new gas plants this spring, and work on a new approach to cover the entire fleet of gas plants.
“As EPA works towards final standards to cut climate pollution from existing coal and new gas-fired power plants later this spring, the agency is taking a new, comprehensive approach to cover the entire fleet of natural gas-fired turbines, as well as cover more pollutants,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
Mr. Regan said that the new plan will have a “stronger, more durable approach” that will achieve greater emissions reductions than the initial proposal.
It also will better protect vulnerable communities suffering from toxic air pollution caused by power plants and other industrial sites, he said.
The move came after environmental justice groups claimed that the previous plan could disproportionately harm low-income neighborhoods near power plants, refineries, and other industrial sites.
Abigail Dillen, president of environmental law organization Earthjustice, said in a statement that the move “will enable EPA to consider technologies that were not considered in its initial proposal.”
“We applaud EPA as it moves to finalize urgently needed standards for existing coal plants and new gas plants, and we agree that we must have comprehensive solutions for fossil gas plant pollution,” Ms. Dillen said.
‘Disappointing Setback’
However, the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) called the EPA’s delay in finalizing pollution standards for existing gas plants “a disappointing setback” in regulating climate and emissions from the U.S. power sector.“We are extremely disappointed in EPA’s decision to delay finalizing carbon pollution standards for existing gas plants, which make up a significant portion of carbon emissions in the power sector,” Frank Sturges, attorney at CATF, said in a press release.
“Greenhouse gas emissions from power plants have gone uncontrolled for far too long, and we have no more time to waste,” he noted.
CATF warned that the share of power sector carbon pollution from existing gas plants could potentially double by 2040 if no regulations are in place.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, criticized the EPA for its inexplicable“ decision and urged the agency to complete ”a robust rule covering the existing gas fleet by the end of this year.”
“Making a rule that applies only to coal, which is dying out on its own, and to new gas power plants that are not yet built, is not how we are going to reach climate safety,” Mr. Whitehouse said in a statement. “Failing to cover the plants responsible for the vast majority of future carbon pollution from the power sector makes no sense. With temperature records being broken daily and a spiraling cascade of climate-driven extreme weather events affecting families across America and the world, the planet cannot afford action at EPA’s pace.”
No new coal plant has opened in the United States in more than a decade, while dozens of coal-fired plants have closed in recent years in the face of competition from cheaper natural gas. The Biden administration has committed to create a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.
