|
Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units
Apr 13, 2012 (Environmental Protection Agency Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) --
SUMMARY: The United States EPA is proposing new source performance standards for emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) for new affected fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units (EGUs). The EPA is proposing these requirements because CO2 is a greenhouse gas (GHG) and fossil fuel-fired power plants are the country's largest stationary source emitters of GHGs. The EPA in 2009 found that by causing or contributing to climate change, GHGs endanger both the public health and the public welfare of current and future generations. The proposed requirements, which are strictly limited to new sources, would require new fossil fuel-fired EGUs greater than 25 megawatt electric (MWe) to meet an output-based standard of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour (lb CO2 /MWh), based on the performance of widely used natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) technology. Because of the economics of the energy sector, the EPA and others project that NGCC will be the predominant choice for new fossil fuel-fired generation even absent this rule. In its base case analysis, the EPA does not project any new coal-fired EGUs without CCS to be built in the absence of this proposal through 2030. New coal-fired or pet coke-fired units could meet the standard either by employing carbon capture and storage (CCS) /1/ of approximately 50% of the CO2 in the exhaust gas at startup, or through later application of more effective CCS to meet the standard on average over a 30-year period. The 30-year averaging option could also provide flexibility for owners and operators of coal or pet coke units implementing CCS at the outset of the unit's operation that were designed and operated to emit at less than 1,000 lb CO2 /MWh to address startup concerns or short term interruptions in their ability to sequester captured carbon dioxide. The EPA is not proposing standards of performance for existing EGUs whose CO2 emissions increase as a result of installation of pollution controls for conventional pollutants, or for proposed EGUs, which are referred to here as transitional sources, that have acquired a complete preconstruction permit by the time of this proposal and that commence construction within 12 months of this proposal. As a result, those sources would not be subject to the standards of performance proposed in today's rule.
/1/ Throughout this preamble, we refer to `carbon capture and storage' or CCS. By this, we mean the use of a technology for separating and capturing CO2 from the flue gas or syngas stream with subsequent compression and transportation to a suitable location for long term storage and monitoring. Many references refer to CCS as `carbon capture and sequestration'. In this preamble, `storage' and `sequestration' mean the same thing and the words are used interchangeably. END FOOTNOTE
EFFECTIVE DATE: Comments. Comments must be received on or before June 12, 2012. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), since the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to make a decision concerning the information collection request between 30 and 60 days after April 13, 2012, a comment to the OMB is best assured of having its full effect if the OMB receives it by May 14, 2012.
Public Hearing. The EPA will hold public hearings on this proposal. The dates, times, and locations of the public hearings will be announced separately. Oral testimony will be limited to 5 minutes per commenter. The EPA encourages commenters to provide written versions of their oral testimonies either electronically or in paper copy. Verbatim transcripts and written statements will be included in the rulemaking docket. If you would like to present oral testimony at one of the hearings, please notify Ms. Pamela Garrett, Sectors Policies and Programs Division (C504-03), U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone number (919) 541-7966; email: garrett.pamela@epa.gov. Persons wishing to provide testimony should notify Ms. Garrett at least 2 days in advance of the public hearings. The public hearings will provide interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or arguments concerning the proposed rule. The EPA officials may ask clarifying questions during the oral presentations, but will not respond to the presentations or comments at that time. Written statements and supporting information submitted during the comment period will be considered with the same weight as any oral comments and supporting information presented at the public hearing. For updates and additional information on the public hearings, please check the EPA's Web site for this rulemaking, http://www.epa.gov/airquality/carbonpollutionstandards.
ADDRESSES: Comments. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660, by one of the following methods:
At the Web site http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
At the Web site http://www.epa.gov/oar/docket.html: Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the EPA Air and Radiation Docket web site.
Email: Send your comments by electronic mail (email) to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, Attn: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660.
Facsimile: Fax your comments to (202) 566-9744, Attn: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660.
Mail: Send your comments to the EPA Docket Center, U.S. EPA, Mail Code 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attn: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660. Please include a total of two copies. In addition, please mail a copy of your comments on the information collection provisions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St. NW., Washington, DC 20503.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Room 3334, Washington, DC, 20460, Attn: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660. Such deliveries are accepted only during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4:20 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays), and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: All submissions must include agency name and docket ID number (EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660). The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or email. Send or deliver information identified as CBI only to the following address: Roberto Morales, OAQPS Document Control Officer (C404-02), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA- HQ-OAR-2011-0660. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
The EPA requests that a separate copy of your comments also be sent to the contact person identified below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). If the comment includes information you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI or otherwise protected should be sent.
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an "anonymous access" system, which means the EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment directly to the EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available (e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute). Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742. Visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm for additional information about the EPA's public docket.
In addition to being available in the docket, an electronic copy of this proposed rule will also be available on the Worldwide Web (WWW) through the Technology Transfer Network (TTN). Following signature, a copy of the proposed rule will be posted on the TTN's policy and guidance page for newly proposed or promulgated rules at the following address: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/. The TTN provides information and technology exchange in various areas of air pollution control.
--This is a summary of a Federal Register article originally published on the page number listed below--
Proposed rule.
CFR Part: "40 CFR Part 60"
RIN Number: "RIN 2060-AQ91"
Citation: "77 FR 22392"
Document Number: "EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660; FRL-9654-7"
Federal Register Page Number: "22392"
"Proposed Rules"
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
Call Center/CRM
Info Tech 
IP Communications 
Mobile 
Green 
Satellite 
Robotics 
Internet Telephony Magazine
Click here to read latest issue
CUSTOMER 
Cloud Computing Magazine
Click here to read latest issue
M2M Evolution Magazine
