EPA has announced the issuance of a final rule limiting emissions of mercury and other air toxics, including metals and acid gases, from coal- and oil-fired power plants.  The rule applies to new and existing power plants larger than 25 megawatts that burn coal or oil to produce electricity for sale through the national electric grid.  It does not apply to natural gas-fired power plants unless the fuel for those plants is produced by gasifying coal or oil.

Existing sources will have three years to comply with the new emissions limits.  State permitting authorities may grant individual sources an additional year to comply under certain circumstances.

The rule also includes revisions to the New Source Performance Standards; these revisions apply to new coal- and oil-fired power plants and set standards for emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides.

EPA’s web page on the rule may be found here; a press release is available here. In addition, EPA has prepared, broken down by state, a list of facilities that it anticipates will be covered by the new air toxics rules.

For additional information, contact Ed Roggenkamp.