The Akron Legal News

Plan would create guidelines for new energy standards

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: June 10, 2014

State Reps. Andrew Thompson and Jack Cera have introduced a bipartisan bill into the Ohio General Assembly that would create new carbon dioxide emissions standards.

House Bill 506 would require the director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to adopt rules establishing standards of performance for carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired electric generating units and natural gas fired electric generating units in compliance with the bill.

The measure calls for standards of performance for existing generating units to be based on specified factors, including reductions in carbon dioxide emissions that can “reasonably” be achieved.

The bill charges the EPA director to consider adopting less stringent standards or longer compliance schedules than those established in applicable federal regulations or guidelines when establishing a standard of performance for an existing generating unit based on factors such as consumer impact and cost.

Thompson, R-Marietta, and Cera, D-Bellaire, recently stumped for the proposed legislation before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee.

“As many of you are aware, in 2013, President Obama directed (the) United States Environmental Protection Agency to develop ‘guidelines’ to address carbon emissions from existing coal-fired and gas-fired power plants,” Thompson said, adding that the U.S. EPA is slated to propose guidelines in the coming days and have them finalized by June 1, 2015.

“States must submit plans by June 30, 2016 containing carbon standards based on the EPA guidelines. This legislation looks to provide a framework for an Ohio-centered compliance plan for those guidelines.”

Despite his disagreement with the “notion of creating unattainable standards for plants,” Thompson said he recognizes the state’s “precarious position given these restrictions.”

“My co-sponsor and I look to minimize the risks to our consumers, our public utilities and ultimately our electric reliability. This bill seeks to give us greater control over our destiny as a state,” he said, noting that the majority of Ohio’s energy consumption comes from coal and natural gas-fired power plants.

“When developing new standards it is imperative that those standards are enacted in a manner that will meet the ongoing needs of Ohio ratepayers, while at the same time accounting for environmental concerns, economic development needs and our desire for job growth.”

According to a bill summary, HB 506 would permit the Ohio EPA director to implement, to the maximum extent permissible, standards of performance through mechanisms that provide flexibility in complying with the standards.

The bill seeks to require any plan establishing standards of performance for existing generating units developed under the bill to be prepared in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority and any other relevant agency.

If enacted, HB 506 would ban the Ohio EPA director from proposing or submitting any plan to the federal EPA for performance standards of existing generating units that is inconsistent with the bill.

The proposal specifies that any plan developed under the bill would cease to operate if the federal EPA fails to adopt regulations or issue guidelines for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from existing generating units or if such regulations or guidelines are withdrawn by the U.S. EPA or invalidated by a court.

Thompson said the emerging shale economy has been a boon to economic development because energy is the key input to every product.

“In order to meet these goals, Ohio must be able to maintain the ability to provide reliable and affordable electricity though the diversified sources available to this state,” he said.

“With this bill, we can establish a reasonable policy for Ohio to follow in regulating carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired and gas-fired power plants. All that would be required of us is to set CO2 standards based on what is achievable through efficiency improvements and other sensible measures that can be undertaken at individual electric generating units.”

Babe Erdos of the United Mine Workers of America joined Thompson and Cera in championing the proposed legislation.

“HB 506 will help to avoid the potential adverse impacts of U.S. EPA guidelines limiting carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fueled power plants,” he said.

“The bill ensures that Ohio EPA takes into account all of the flexibility measures provided to states by the Clean Air Act and by previous EPA regulations under Section 111d of the Act.”

Erdos said the UMWA and other unions are about to experience unprecedented job losses due to the shutdowns of coal plants in response to EPA’s new mercury rule.

“We do not want to see another round of plant closures resulting from the proposal on existing source CO2 emissions that EPA will release next month,” he said.

Erdos said the UMWA’s main concern about the federal EPA’s existing source guidelines for CO2 reductions is “finding ways to avoid the loss of jobs at plants that have just invested billions in retrofit controls to meet the mercury rule.”

“We know that states are supposed to have a lot of discretion in this program, and we do not want to see arbitrary CO2 emission rate targets that would force a lot of additional plant closures and job losses,” he said.

“We also need to consider that climate change is a global issue, and that actions taken in Ohio would have virtually no impact on future climate.”

HB 506 has not been scheduled for additional meetings.

[Back]