The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to revisit several major regulations governing power plant emissions. This is part of its Power the Great American Comeback initiative.
The agency is re-evaluating the 2015 greenhouse gas (GHG) standards for new power plants as well as the 2024 GHG standards for both new and existing facilities. Additionally, the EPA is reconsidering the 2024 amendments to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), particularly requirements related to filterable particulate matter and continuous emissions monitoring systems.
Under its new proposals, the EPA aims to repeal all existing GHG emissions standards for power plants, or potentially a subset of them. The agency argues that the Clean Air Act does not authorize the GHG standards because these emissions do not “contribute significantly” to endangering public health and welfare. It also proposes repealing parts of the 2024 MATS rule that require costly upgrades with no additional health benefits to some coal-fired plants — many of which provide affordable, reliable dispatchable power — to shut down prematurely.
If finalized, these changes would reduce costly compliance burdens for power producers, saving electric cooperatives and other utilities billions of dollars that could be redirected toward system reliability, grid improvements, and keeping rates affordable for members.
“These proposed changes give us the chance to balance environmental responsibility with our mission to deliver reliable, affordable power, products, and services to rural America,” Erin Dukart, Basin Electric director of Environmental Services, said. “Protecting air quality is important to Basin Electric and always has been. It’s also important to us that we don’t overburden our members with unnecessary costs.”
