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Cleaning Up Power Plants and Refineries

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Posted on March 9, 2011

By Christina Simeone, Policy Director

Did you know that fossil fuel-fired power plants and petroleum refineries are two of the U.S.’s largest sources of global warming pollution? In fact, these two industries are responsible for 40% of America’s greenhouse gas emissions. So it makes sense that the EPA is planning to develop rules to limit global warming pollution from power plants and refineries.

The science is clear that human activities are changing our climate. EPA notes that average global CO2 concentrations have increased 38% from pre-industrial levels to 2009, and almost all of this is due to human activity. Global temperatures have risen by 1.3*F over the last 100 years. Since power plants and refineries are major contributors to climate change, reducing pollution from these sources is urgent.

EPA’s rules will be developed under the ‘New Source Performance Standard’ (NSPS) program, which was established in 1970 under the Clean Air Act. This program is intended to reduce pollution from specific industrial sources — such as steel plants, incinerators, electric power plants, lead smelters and others — in order to protect human health and the environment. For decades, the EPA has set NSPS standards for other types of air pollution. These new rules will be part of the EPA’s overall effort to address the greenhouse gas pollution that causes global warming.

EPA’s plan is actually the result of legal action by several states and environmental organizations that have challenged the EPA for failing to address global warming in its NSPS rules. In order to prevent another lawsuit, EPA and the organizations agreed on a timeline to develop the NSPS rules that EPA must follow in order to avoid further legal action. EPA needs to issue a proposal for a power plant standard by July 26, 2011, and finalize the rule by May 26, 2012. The refinery rule must be proposed by December 10, 2011, and finalized by November 10, 2012.

EPA is seeking input from the general public, including representatives from the oil and electric utility industries, on the proposed timeline. Industry will pressure EPA to ask the courts for extensions on the deadlines, and will claim that significant pollution reductions are too expensive or are technically impossible to achieve. In order to counter the input from industry, EPA needs to hear from you by March 18, 2011 that strong global warming pollution limits need to be developed swiftly! Click here to file a public comment with the EPA.  

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