(Bloomberg News) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule to curb toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants drew criticism from an industry lobbyist and praise from an environmentalist even before it is released this week.
The regulation, the most-expensive order aimed at companies being considered by President Barack Obama's administration, was signed by the agency Dec. 16 and is set to be published as early as today or tomorrow. Industry groups had urged the EPA to give companies an additional year to comply.
"The final rule is expected to be pretty close to the proposed rule, which is unfortunate," Scott Segal, a lobbyist at Bracewell & Giuliani LLC in Washington, representing operators of coal-fired plants such as Southern Co., said yesterday in an e-mail. The "rules will impose significant costs on consumers and on industries that depend on affordable and reliable power to remain competitive."
The rule, estimated to cost $11 billion when proposed by the EPA this year, was initiated after a federal court threw out standards issued by the Bush administration to limit mercury pollution. Under the proposal, plants have three years to install controls curbing the release of toxic materials when coal is burned to generate electricity.
The final regulation includes details for how companies such as American Electric Power Co. and Southern can apply for additional time to cut emissions of mercury, arsenic and acid gases, said Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago.
'Modest Waivers'
"There are some provisions for EPA to grant modest waivers," Learner said in an interview, citing a briefing on the rule. Overall, "these standards mean power plants will invest in modern pollution controls, and that investment will create jobs, cleaner air and better public health."
The Washington Post reported in its Dec. 17 edition that the regulation was signed in time to meet a deadline negotiated with a federal court.
"We will make details available when we are ready to make an announcement," Betsaida Alcantara, a spokeswoman for the EPA, said in an e-mail Dec. 17. "As we have made clear, any standard will maximize flexibilities, while providing extensive public health protections from dangerous pollutants."
The EPA proposal incorporates three separate limits: one for mercury, a second for acid gases and a third for particulate matter, which is used to target emissions of metals such as chromium, selenium and cadmium. Taken together, the health and economic benefits from cleaning up pollution will dwarf the costs to industry, according the agency's analysis.