Post by dino on Apr 15, 2011 12:58:13 GMT -5
Enjoy your Chattanooga drinking water tainted with Fukushima nuclear radioactivity while TVA kills you with coal.
WASHINGTON—The Tennessee Valley Authority agreed Thursday to mothball 18 coal-fired boilers and spend as much as $5 billion on new pollution controls in a far-reaching deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to settle Clean Air Act complaints.
The TVA agreement to shut down 16% of its total coal-fired power-generation capacity is the largest such commitment by any company that has settled with EPA under a clean-air enforcement action. The company, which is owned by the federal government, said it will replace the lost capacity with cleaner generation sources, such as natural gas or nuclear power. TVA said the retirements include about 1,000 megawatts of capacity that was already slated for idling. The TVA will also invest $350 million in clean-energy projects.
The settlement comes amid a running battle between the Obama administration and members of Congress over the EPA's regulation of the coal-fired power industry. House Republicans, with the support of some coal-state Democrats, have sought, through various measures, to curtail the agency's use of the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by coal-burning power plants.
Industry lobbyists and some lawmakers have also complained that proposed EPA rules aimed at curbing emissions of other pollutants, such as mercury, could raise power costs and cost jobs.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has countered that the agency's rules are reasonable, and will yield significant benefits in the form of improved public health. In the TVA case, the EPA estimates the new pollution controls will prevent up to 3,000 premature deaths each year and result in as much as $27 billion in annual health benefits.
The settlement announced Thursday drew criticism from at least one Capitol Hill lawmaker. Tennessee Republican Rep. John Duncan said the settlement was "ridiculous" and that he was "disappointed that TVA caved in to these demands."
Mr. Duncan said the settlement would drive up electricity costs for people in Tennessee and in surrounding states, but Ms. Jackson said in a call with reporters that TVA had determined it wouldn't affect consumers.
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R., Ky.) said it was "outrageous" that the TVA had agreed to pay nearly $10 million in legal fees to EPA and spend $350 million toward energy efficiency, renewable energy and greenhouse-gas reductions "not required by federal law."
"I am immensely concerned that this judgment will result in higher costs for electricity ratepayers and will affect the jobs of the men and women who make their living in Kentucky's coal industry," Mr. Whitfield said.
Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Haslam praised the deal, saying it will help provide regulatory certainty for the TVA and commercial users that will help economic-development efforts.
The TVA wasn't immediately available for comment.
The EPA complaints against the TVA date back to 1999, when the agency accused the authority of modifying coal-fired units at nine of its plants without getting clean-air permits and installing pollution controls.
WSJ
WASHINGTON—The Tennessee Valley Authority agreed Thursday to mothball 18 coal-fired boilers and spend as much as $5 billion on new pollution controls in a far-reaching deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to settle Clean Air Act complaints.
The TVA agreement to shut down 16% of its total coal-fired power-generation capacity is the largest such commitment by any company that has settled with EPA under a clean-air enforcement action. The company, which is owned by the federal government, said it will replace the lost capacity with cleaner generation sources, such as natural gas or nuclear power. TVA said the retirements include about 1,000 megawatts of capacity that was already slated for idling. The TVA will also invest $350 million in clean-energy projects.
The settlement comes amid a running battle between the Obama administration and members of Congress over the EPA's regulation of the coal-fired power industry. House Republicans, with the support of some coal-state Democrats, have sought, through various measures, to curtail the agency's use of the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by coal-burning power plants.
Industry lobbyists and some lawmakers have also complained that proposed EPA rules aimed at curbing emissions of other pollutants, such as mercury, could raise power costs and cost jobs.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has countered that the agency's rules are reasonable, and will yield significant benefits in the form of improved public health. In the TVA case, the EPA estimates the new pollution controls will prevent up to 3,000 premature deaths each year and result in as much as $27 billion in annual health benefits.
The settlement announced Thursday drew criticism from at least one Capitol Hill lawmaker. Tennessee Republican Rep. John Duncan said the settlement was "ridiculous" and that he was "disappointed that TVA caved in to these demands."
Mr. Duncan said the settlement would drive up electricity costs for people in Tennessee and in surrounding states, but Ms. Jackson said in a call with reporters that TVA had determined it wouldn't affect consumers.
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R., Ky.) said it was "outrageous" that the TVA had agreed to pay nearly $10 million in legal fees to EPA and spend $350 million toward energy efficiency, renewable energy and greenhouse-gas reductions "not required by federal law."
"I am immensely concerned that this judgment will result in higher costs for electricity ratepayers and will affect the jobs of the men and women who make their living in Kentucky's coal industry," Mr. Whitfield said.
Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Haslam praised the deal, saying it will help provide regulatory certainty for the TVA and commercial users that will help economic-development efforts.
The TVA wasn't immediately available for comment.
The EPA complaints against the TVA date back to 1999, when the agency accused the authority of modifying coal-fired units at nine of its plants without getting clean-air permits and installing pollution controls.
WSJ