Dialogue on Performance Standards for Existing Power Plants: Participant Comments to EPA
by
Franz Litz - In two legal challenges filed in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, a number of states and non-governmental organizations sought to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate new and existing power plants under section 111 of the Clean Air Act. In December 2010, EPA settled the lawsuit by agreeing to a schedule for regulating power plants. This schedule calls for EPA to issue draft rules and guidelines in July 2011. EPA subsequently reached out to power companies, states, environmental groups, and the public at large to gather ideas on the best path forward.
In effort to inform the ongoing deliberations, the World Resources Institute has been convening a group of businesses, state representatives, and environmental groups. These groups first came together around basic principles for regulation, and presented them at EPA’s listening session on February 23rd. In the following weeks, this group coalesced around a more detailed set of ideas for regulation, and submitted them to EPA for consideration on Tuesday, April 19th.
Dialogue Participants
The World Resources Institute convened the Dialogue with the following participants:
State Participants: California Air Resources Board, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.
Companies: Calpine Corporation, Consolidated Edison, Inc., Constellation Energy, Entergy Corporation, Exelon Corporation, National Grid, NextEra Energy, New York Power Authority, PG&E Corporation, Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc., Seattle City Light and Sempra Energy.
National environmental organizations: Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Advisory organizations and think tanks: Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), Georgetown Climate Center, and M.J. Bradley & Associates.