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Clean air rules likely to cause power generation shortages in much of US: NERC chief

New US environmental regulations are likely to create generation shortages in the Great Plains, Midwest, Northeast and Texas, the head of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said Wednesday. Speaking at the Gulf Coast Power Association’s Spring Conference in Houston, Gerry Cauley, NERC president and CEO, said new greenhouse gas rules could cause the retirement of 60 GW of generation capacity, mainly coal-fired, over the next few years. NERC plans to release a report on April 20 that would show such retirements could create shortages in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the Northeast Power Coordination Council and the Southwest Power Pool, Cauley said. Noting that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan aims to lower carbon dioxide emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2020, Cauley said the report would highlight that the necessary cuts for many states "appear to be infeasible." Article […]

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North Dakota joins Wyoming in lawsuit challenging federal fracing rule

The North Dakota Industrial Commission has voted to join Wyoming in a lawsuit challenging a new rule issued by the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management , which includes requirements for publicly disclosing chemicals using in hydraulic fracturing . The rule pertains to onshore drilling on tribal and public lands ( OGJ Online, Mar. 20, 2015 ). Wyoming was the first state that decided to file a lawsuit ( OGJ Online, Mar. 27, 2015 ). North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said he believes the latest federal regulations could “interfere with the work of the state’s water commission and health department.” Atty. Gen. Wayne Stenehjem said North Dakota lawmakers previously approved $1 million for litigation on issues such as fracturing regulations. Related Articles

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Top U.S. Court Questions EPA Emissions Rule for Power Plants

(Bloomberg) — U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled they are divided over Obama administration rules that would cut emissions from 460 coal-fired power plants in an effort to curb birth defects, heart disease and premature deaths. During arguments Wednesday, justices questioned Environmental Protection Agency controls on mercury and acid gases from the plants owned by Southern Co., American Electric Power Co. and other utilities. Lawyers for power companies and some states said the agency didn’t adequately consider costs before imposing rules estimated to cost $9.6 billion a year. “It’s classic arbitrary and capricious agency action,” Justice Antonin Scalia said, referring to a legal standard the court can use to block an agency rule. The Obama administration says it considered costs in how it set the rules but wasn’t required to do so at the initial stage of deciding whether to issue regulations at all. That argument was questioned by Scalia […]

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Supreme Court Appears Divided on EPA Rules to Limit Mercury Emissions

ENLARGE Justices are considering whether the EPA should first have weighed costs to generators of emission cuts. Photo: Bloomberg News WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court appeared split on Wednesday over whether the Environmental Protection Agency erred when it adopted first-ever regulations requiring power plants to cut emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants. The regulations would cost $9.6 billion in annual costs, according to EPA estimates. But the agency said it was appropriate to consider only public health risks—not industry costs—when it decided to regulate coal- and oil-fired generation plants. That decision was the crux of 90 minutes of oral argument. The court was considering a section of the Clean Air Act that said the EPA “shall” regulate utilities’ emissions of the hazardous air pollutants if it found that such regulation “is appropriate and necessary.” The agency said it took costs into account later when it determined exactly how to […]

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Chinese Premier Vows Tougher Regulation on Air Pollution

BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang of China said on Sunday that the government was failing to satisfy public demands to stanch pollution and would impose heavier punishments to cut the toxic smog that was the subject of a popular documentary belatedly banned by censors. The premier’s news conference at the end of the annual full meeting of the National People’s Congress has become a fixture of the Chinese political calendar, cast as a show of political candor and accountability. But the briefings have mostly become a stilted ritual, with questions generally preselected and massaged to avoid the airing of controversies about legal rights, corruption scandals and other themes unwelcome by Communist Party leaders. This year’s conference was no different. But Mr. Li took one reporter’s question about air pollution, which mentioned the banned documentary, “Under the Dome,” and he acknowledged that there was a gap between the government’s efforts […]

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Plan to Verify Delhi Pollution Data Raises Suspicions

Photo A thick blanket of smoke at a garbage dump in New Delhi. The government says it will authenticate pollution levels before releasing the information to the public, a plan that critics say will deprive residents of the opportunity to protect themselves against bad air. Credit Altaf Qadri/Associated Press NEW DELHI — This megacity’s modest effort to warn residents about unhealthy spikes in air pollution levels in real time may soon end, after a decision to first send the data to be authenticated by the central government. Some experts and activists immediately questioned the need for such checks, accusing the government of trying to hide — or worse, alter — data that shows Delhi’s air to be the world’s most toxic at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for greater industrialization. Recent high readings, which consistently exceed Beijing’s pollution readings, have alarmed the city’s Indian elites […]

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The Dirty Truth About Asia’s Cruise-Ship Emissions

ENLARGE Sulfur caps for cruise ships are the subject of an election debate in Sydney. Australia restricts ships’ emissions of sulfur to 3.5% of fuel volume—a level that is 35 times the U.S. and European limit. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images SYDNEY—Operators of some of the world’s biggest cruise ships are facing calls to bring their fuel emissions while at Asia-Pacific ports into line with stricter air-quality standards in the U.S. and Europe. Many popular destinations, including Singapore, Australia and several of the Pacific Islands, apply international maritime guidelines restricting ships’ emissions of sulfur—a pollutant associated with acid rain—to 3.5% of fuel volume. But that is 35 times the U.S. and European limit. Responsibility for regulating sulfur emissions—found by a number of air-quality studies conducted by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to cause conditions ranging from breathing difficulties to premature death—rests with local authorities. Activists […]

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China hopes novice environment chief will be breath of fresh air

BEIJING (Reuters) – One year after "declaring war" on pollution, China has appointed an inexperienced outsider as its new environment minister tasked with breathing life into a massive clean-up campaign that even optimists say will take decades to complete. Beijing has vowed to reverse the damage done to its skies, rivers and soil during China’s three-decade dash for growth, putting its under-resourced environment ministry under pressure to deliver results. Leading that drive will be Chen Jining, 51, an environmental scientist and president of China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, who was appointed the country’s Minister of Environmental Protection on Friday. As China’s annual parliament opens this week, Chen will need to show an increasingly angry public that the environment remains one of the top priorities, while reassuring thousands of regional delegates that there is still room for economic growth. Academic colleagues describe him as determined and well-organized, and said his expertise […]

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Beijing Quietly Curbs Discussion of Documentary on Air Pollution

ENLARGE Chai Jing released an online documentary Saturday about air pollution. After the film was viewed some 100 million times, government censors stepped in to tamp down discussion about the film. Above, Ms. Chai is seen in a file photo from 2012 at her book release in Beijing Photo: Zuma Press BEIJING—A deeply emotive documentary on air pollution by a well-known journalist was quickly praised by a top government official, but after it drew some 100 million views online over the weekend, censors stepped in to tamp down the buzz, according to several accounts. Produced by former state television broadcaster Chai Jing, “Under the Dome” is a bleak look at the state of the Middle Kingdom’s skies and an unhappy commentary on how government efforts to target the problem have failed. Ms. Chai decided to investigate pollution after the birth of her daughter, who was diagnosed with a benign […]

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