U.S. Supreme Court Resuscitates EPA’s Cross-State Air Rule
Posted on Apr 29, 2014 in Climate Change, Financing, Litigation | Comments Off on U.S. Supreme Court Resuscitates EPA’s Cross-State Air Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court resurrected the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation of air pollution crossing state borders through its 6-2 ruling in favor of the EPA, downwind states, and public health and environmental groups. The Court ruled that the government did not violate the Clean Air Act when it implemented a federal scheme for emissions that drift over state lines. ...
Coal Plant Retirements Raise Reliability Concerns for FERC Commissioner
Posted on Apr 24, 2014 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Coal Plant Retirements Raise Reliability Concerns for FERC Commissioner
Commissioner Philip Moeller of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) expressed concern this week that the nation’s power grid lacks sufficient infrastructure to replace coal and nuclear generation plants scheduled to retire or go offline over the next few years. This winter’s extreme weather stressed the power grid, and there are increasing concerns that compliance with the...
North Dakota Joins EPA Haze Authority Case
Posted on Feb 18, 2014 in Environmental, Legislative & Politics, Litigation | Comments Off on North Dakota Joins EPA Haze Authority Case
North Dakota has filed a petition for certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court hoping to prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from denouncing the state’s emissions control plan in favor of a federal plan. Specifically, the petition argues that the EPA does not have the authority to review and replace state implementation plans for the Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze...
EPA Continues Work on Carbon Rule
Posted on Feb 11, 2014 in Climate Change, Environmental, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on EPA Continues Work on Carbon Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency is continuing its efforts to issue a draft carbon rule by June 1, 2014. The new rule, which will be issued under the Clean Air Act and based on a 2007 Supreme Court decision, will regulate carbon emissions from existing power facilities. Click here for the full story. See the Sutherland Coop Team’s October 29, 2013, post for more on the...
Coops Face Increased Costs with Stricter Haze Regulation
Posted on Jan 27, 2014 in Environmental, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Coops Face Increased Costs with Stricter Haze Regulation
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) partially disapproved Wyoming’s plan to address haze pollution in the region, setting stricter limits on certain gases and particulate matter than the state plan had proposed. Participants in the Missouri Basin Power Project, including Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric), are grappling with the prospect of increased costs due to...
EPA Decision in Wyoming Means Big Dollars for Basin Electric
Posted on Jan 16, 2014 in Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on EPA Decision in Wyoming Means Big Dollars for Basin Electric
A recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will impose a stricter emissions limit in Wyoming that will force utilities and coops, including Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric), to invest in expensive technologies to comply by early 2019. The compliance costs are estimated upwards of $1 billion in capital costs and hundreds of millions in operating...
Coops Urge EPA to Slow Down Carbon Rule for Existing Plants
Posted on Oct 29, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Coops Urge EPA to Slow Down Carbon Rule for Existing Plants
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) first “listening session” for its pending Clean Air Act emissions standards had a strong showing from coops. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, along with individual coops from three states, proposed a fair solution that recognizes the billions of dollars already invested by coops to clean up existing plants and allows...
EPA Emission Standards Face Supreme Court Review
Posted on Oct 18, 2013 in Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on EPA Emission Standards Face Supreme Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) arguing that the EPA has overreached its authority under the Clean Air Act by regulating greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-based power generation facilities. Oral arguments for the case (Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA) are expected in February or March 2014. Click here for more...
Coop Action Plan for EPA Regs
Posted on Sep 24, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on Coop Action Plan for EPA Regs
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) plans to enlist the support of electric coops and their members nationwide to deal with proposed regulations for future power plants that are built. The new Cooperative Action Network website seeks to organize this movement. NRECA will seek coop input as it develops comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s...
Coops Continue to Take on EPA’s New Climate Plan
Posted on Sep 24, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on Coops Continue to Take on EPA’s New Climate Plan
Representatives of electric coops across the country are trying to get the following message across on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rulemaking announced September 20: This rulemaking is not feasible and prohibitively expensive. Specifically, the EPA’s rulemaking implementing the Clean Air Act requires future coal-based generation to employ carbon capture and storage...
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