Estimated Costs
As recently as Dec. 14, the leaders of the industry trade group, Edison Electric Institute, met with White House officials, according to records published on the White House website. The group has organized the effort to garner extra time to comply with regulation.
The agency has resisted the industry push. Under the rules of the Clean Air Act, plant operators get three years to install pollution scrubbers. The EPA has said it will grant additional time on a case-by-case basis.
The final rule gives the companies details for seeking more time to comply, in limited instances, Learner said.
American Electric, based in Columbus, Ohio, said in June that proposed EPA rules would force it to close parts or all of 11 power plants, eliminating 600 jobs. Complying with the rules would cost $8 billion, most of it on cleaning up or shutting plants that lack pollution-control equipment, it said.
Lives, Jobs
The EPA says the rule would save lives and create 9,000 more jobs than would be lost, as power plants invest billions of dollars to install pollution scrubbing systems or build cleaner natural gas plants. It estimates the regulation could prevent 17,000 premature deaths from toxic emissions.
Segal said that the agency's job estimate is off. "For every one job that may be created in order to comply with the rule, we expect four higher-paying energy and manufacturing jobs to be lost."
When the EPA signs the final regulation that means it has been cleared by the White House Office of Management and Budget, which reviews proposed agency rules. The White House scrapped another, more expensive, EPA proposal to curb smog-causing ozone in September.