EPA seeks partial regulation
KFYR TV
- September 1, 2011
Michelle San Miguel
Watch the video: EPA seeks partial regulation
We all want to breathe clean air and have clear skies. Right now, some state coal plans emit what the Environmental Protection Agency says is too much nitrogen oxide, which environmentalists say can cause breathing problems and cloud the air. That's why the EPA wants to take partial control of North Dakota's regional haze program.
The EPA signed a notice Thursday with the Federal Register that could allow the EPA to have some control over nitrogen oxide emissions in the state.
The EPA says the plan would remove an additional 23,000 tons of the gas every year from what the state's plan proposes.
No matter how it turns out, millions of dollars in new technology could mean higher electricity rates for consumers.
The state and the EPA disagree on how to cut down on nitrogen oxide emissions. The state wants to use what's known as selective non-catalytic reduction to reduce emissions from the exhaust streams of coal-fired power plants.
As for the EPA, it's proposing installing selective catalytic reduction.
"The technology that EPA has selected does a better job at the amount of reduction. However, it's for a much larger price. It's 15 times more than the one the state used," said Terry O`Clair, director of the state's division of air quality.
The state and Basin Electric argue the technology EPA is proposing hasn't been proven to work on lignite coal, the kind of coal found and used in North Dakota.
"We feel that the State Health Department has a very good knowledge of what the state has in terms of power plants, what they use and what technologies would work best for removing NOX from those exhaust streams," said Daryl Hill, Basin Electric spokesperson.
The EPA says its technology has been tested on lignite coal.
"Our technical expert's position is that the specifics of North Dakota lignite should be able to be dealt with in a reasonable, cost-effective way," said Carl Daly, the EPA's director of air program for Region 8.
If the EPA's plan passes next year, it would control nitrogen oxide emissions at four of North Dakota's power plants: Basin Electric's Leland Olds Station and Antelope Valley Station, Minnkota Power Cooperative's Milton R. Young Station, and Great River Energy's Coal Creek Station.
Ultimately, the EPA says the issue is about removing visible air pollution and improving health.
"Nitrogen oxide can, in the environment, form a very fine particulate that can affect health, especially in sensitive populations. Folks with asthma, elderly, the young," Daly said.
"The issue isn't really about health. It's about visibility and the difference between what the EPA wants to impose or the technology they want to use and what the state is proposing to use isn't perceptible to the human eye," Hill said.
But the EPA argues that it would be a noticeable difference. The state's plan would cut nitrogen oxide emissions by nearly 60%. Under the EPA's plan, it would reduce it by 90 percent.
Either new technology will cost money and that cost will likely be passed on to the consumer. Once the Federal Register publishes the EPA's notice, it will be open for public comment.
The EPA will be meeting with energy leaders, state officials and the public in Bismarck on Oct. 13.
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