Duke Energy’s Asheville-area coal-fired power plant
From the Wall Street Journal, Sept. 16, 2014
Draft Regulations Aim to Control Power-Plant Carbon Emissions
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration said Tuesday it is allowing more time for the public to weigh in on draft regulations controlling carbon emissions from hundreds of fossil-fuel power plants across the country after a majority of senators called for the extension.
The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it was extending by 45 days its public-comment period that was originally scheduled to end Oct. 16.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy last week, 53 senators, including several Democrats up for re-election this year, urged the administration to allow 60 more days; the comment period was originally 120 days. The new closing date is Dec. 1.
Announced on June 2, the proposed rule seeks to cut carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants 30% by 2030 based on emissions levels from 2005. EPA has set different standards for each state, based upon regional energy mixes and what the agency has deemed each state can do to shift to cleaner sources of electricity.
The agency is still scheduled to issue a final rule by its original deadline of June 2015, EPA Acting Administrator for Air and Radiation Janet McCabe said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “Because of the strong amount of interest we’ve seen from stakeholders, we are announcing today that we are extending the comment period for an additional 45 days,” Ms. McCabe said.
The regulations are the cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s climate-change agenda and affect most detrimentally coal-fired power plants, which produce the most carbon emissions and provide about 40% of the nation’s electricity today.
EPA’s announcement Tuesday comes a week before Mr. Obama travels to New York City to participate in a United Nations summit where he is expected to lay out his administration’s climate-change agenda to world leaders.