WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency’s new standards regulating the emission of mercury and other air pollutants will not result in significant electricity price rises, according to EPA officials.

Addressing a meeting of state energy officials, EPA Senior Counsel Joseph Goffman said Monday that price rises related to the new regulations are “within the range of historical fluctuations.”

The EPA unveiled The Utility Mercury Air Toxics Standard in December, the first  time that federal government imposed limits on mercury, arsenic, acid gases and other poisonous substances emitted by the burning of fossil fuels.

ABCs of MATS
By Meghan Schiller
WASHINGTON—A sense of teamwork was in the air Monday as leaders from three of the largest environmental associations gathered to talk about the progress of the Clean Air Act and the Utility Mercury Air Toxics Standards.

But before you can understand what those at the “3N” meeting — NACAA, NASEO and NARUC – were talking about, meet the key players.

NACAA
aka: National Association of Clean Air Agencies
Translation: The state and local agencies that make sure the air you breathe is clean.

NASEO
aka: National Association of State Energy Officials
Translation: States are tricky—each needs to manage its energy projects and resources so each state needs its own energy officials.

NARUC
aka: National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
Translation: They regulate the utilities and make sure customers get reasonable rates for their utilities—aka electricity, power, etc.

The first issue on the meeting’s agenda: The Clean Air Act

“Emissions reductions resulted in huge health and welfare effects,” said NACAA Executive Director Bill Becker. The EPA’s recent health study found that the law prevented tens of thousands of premature deaths in 2010 alone. The challenges still to come in implementing the CAA include continuing to reduce air pollution that comes from power plants (62 percent arsenic and 77 percent acid gasses come from power plants).

And what about the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards?

MATS falls under Title 3 of The Clean Air Act — and requires that states deal with unacceptable mercury levels.

“EPA estimates that new safeguards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year,” said the EPA in a statement. “The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier-preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.”

The EPA issued a statement in December saying:
· New plants must comply immediately
· Existing plants have three years to comply
· In some cases, plants can apply for an additional fourth year to buy more time to make required changes
· They also can be granted a fifth year if it can meet a list of specific qualifications for the delay

One audience member asked a question that went unanswered by the panel. “if tens of thousands of deaths will be prevented by plants’ compliance to MATS, wouldn’t a fourth and even fifth year extension to comply equal thousands of premature deaths in the interim?”

According to the EPA, mercury has been shown to harm the nervous systems of fetuses and young children, impairing their lifelong development. Other pollutants addressed in the rule can cause cancer, premature death, heart disease and asthma. The EPA estimates that the rule will prevent 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year.

Power plant operators have raised concerns that MATS will be too expensive, forcing increases in prices to customers. They also argue that it would force premature closure of power plants, threatening the supply of electricity in parts of the country.

“What might the health impact be on people from a less reliable (power) system at a time of extreme heat and cold?” questioned Todd Snitchler, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Ohio.

Goffman said the EPA allows substantial flexibility in the implementation of the rule. According to the agency, utilities have three years to comply and may apply for a one- or two-year extension.

“In terms of the cost of this rule, a lot of the great concerns are manageable,” Goffman said.

But Snitchler said industries applying for deadline extensions aren’t given answers fast enough, forcing some to start shutdowns before the EPA rules. On the other hand, Malcolm Woolf, director of the Maryland Energy Administration, said his state was able to install most of the emission controls in about three years.