fyi, paul
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Verena Owen baumling@aol.com Date: Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 9:55 AM Subject: Re: [Coal Volunteers List] EPA - water pollution from power plants rulemaking To: dave.oleary@mdsierra.org, coal-volunteers-list@sierraclub.org
Hi Dave,
I have seen our statement about the rule on another list, see below. I don't think we know yet if there are going to be hearings but I am sure we will collect comments. This is an important rule and there will be activities around it. Stay tuned.
Verena
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2013
*After 30 Years of Inaction, EPA Finally Proposes Plans for Power Plant Water Pollution* *Includes options protecting waters from toxic pollution as well as weaker standards that maintain the status quo*
Washington, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a number of regulatory options late last Friday night, known as steam electric effluent limitation guidelines for power plantshttp://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/steam-electric/proposed.cfm, two of which will finally clean up water pollution from hundreds of power plants.
Power plant water discharges are filled with toxic pollution such as mercury, arsenic, lead, and selenium – heavy metals that can cause neurological and developmental damage, cause harm *in utero*, damage internal organs and cause cancer. Power plants are the biggest sources of water pollution in the country, yet the EPA has not reviewed regulations for this industry in more than 30 years. To address this unacceptable delay, environmental groups filed a lawsuit in 2010 to force the EPA to take action and regulate this dirty industry.
The following statement is from Appalachian Voices, Clean Water Action, Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, Prairie Rivers Network, Sierra Club, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and Waterkeeper Alliance on today’s proposal:
“After 30 years of inaction, the EPA has finally offered a plan that utilizes affordable, available pollution controls to clean up toxic power plant waste water. We need strong protections that limit the amount of mercury, lead, arsenic, chromium, and other heavy metals that power plants are dumping into the rivers, lakes, and streams where we fish, boat, swim, and drink. The technology to clean up power plant water discharges exists, and in many cases is already being used. While the EPA has presented a menu of options, there are two options (Options 4 and 5)http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/steam-electric/proposed.cfm that address all of the contaminated wastewaters of concern across the industry. We are heartened to see that the EPA has identified these options as both achievable and affordable, and we urge the agency to settle on a final choice that will keep America’s waters safe and clean as the Clean Water Act requires.
“In addition to the protective alternatives identified by the agency, the EPA also included many weaker options that would allow power plants to continue to dump poisons unabated from unlined pits. Some of these options also create sweeping exemptions.
“Toxic water pollution from coal-fired power plants makes people sick. Those who live in the communities around these plants have had all kinds of concerns about the pollution – everything from reduced property values to extremely rare forms of cancer. We applaud the EPA for taking this next step to address the problem, and we will keep fighting to ensure the EPA chooses the strongest regulation to protect our health and our water.”
-----Original Message----- From: dave o'leary dave.oleary@mdsierra.org To: coal-volunteers-list coal-volunteers-list@sierraclub.org Sent: Mon, Apr 22, 2013 10:26 pm Subject: [Coal Volunteers List] EPA - water pollution from power plants rulemaking
Hi - I haven't seen this noticed shared yet and I'm wondering about the plans to engage in this process.
Has anyone reviewed the four options yet and is there any guidance on comments?
Thanks, David O'Leary Sierra Club, Maryland Chapter
U.S. EPA News Release: EPA Proposes to Reduce Toxic Pollutants Discharged into Waterways by Power Plants
04/19/2013 CONTACT: Stacy Kika (News Media Only) Kika.stacy@epa.gov 202-564-0906 202-564-4355
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2013
EPA Proposes to Reduce Toxic Pollutants Discharged into Waterways by Power Plants
WASHINGTON — In accordance with a consent decree and in line with requirements under the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today will propose a range of options to help reduce dangerous pollutants, including mercury, arsenic, lead, and selenium that are released into America’s waterways by coal ash, air pollution control waste and other waste from steam electric power plants. Today’s proposal includes a variety of options for whether and how these different waste streams should be treated. EPA will take comment on all of these options, which it will use to help inform the most appropriate final standard.
Steam electric power plants currently account for more than half of all toxic pollutants discharged into streams, rivers and lakes from permitted industrial facilities in the United States. High exposure to these types of pollutants has been linked to neurological damage and cancer as well as damage to the circulatory system, kidneys and liver.Toxic heavy metals do not break down in the environment and can also contaminate sediment in waterways and impact aquatic life and wildlife, including large-scale die-offs of fish.
“America’s waterways are vital to the health and well-being of our communities,” said Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “Reducing the pollution of our waters through effective but flexible controls such as we are proposing today is a win-win for our public health and our economic vitality. We look forward to hearing from all stakeholders on the best way forward.”
EPA has put a focus on ensuring any final rule would protect public health while being sensible and achievable, and in line with that goal, under every preferred option proposed by EPA today, more than half of America’s coal fired power plants would be in compliance without incurring any additional cost.
The proposal updates standards that have been in place since 1982, incorporating technology improvements in the steam electric power industry over the last three decades as required by the Clean Water Act. The proposed national standards are based on data collected from industry and provide flexibility in implementation through a phased-in approach and use of technologies already installed at a number of plants. Under the proposed approach, new requirements for existing power plants would be phased in between 2017 and 2022, and would leverage flexibilities as necessary.
Fewer than half of coal-fired power plants are estimated to incur costs under any of the proposed preferred options, because many power plants already have the technology and procedures in place to meet the proposed pollution control standards.
The four preferred options differ in the number of waste streams covered (such as fly ash handling systems, treatment of air pollution control waste and bottom ash), the size of the units controlled and the stringency of the treatment controls to be imposed. EPA estimates that the regulations would reduce pollutant discharges by 470 million to 2.62 billion pounds annually and reduce water use by 50 billion to 103 billion gallons per year.
EPA also announced its intention to align this Clean Water Act rule with a related rule for coal combustion residuals (CCRs, also known as “coal ash”) proposed in 2010 under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The two rules would apply to many of the same facilities and would work together to reduce pollution associated with coal ash and related wastes. EPA is seeking comment from industry and other stakeholders to ensure that both final rules are aligned to reduce pollution efficiently and minimize regulatory burdens.
There are approximately 1,200 steam electric power plants that generate electricity using nuclear fuel or fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas in the U.S. Approximately 500 of these power plants are coal fired units which are the primary source of the pollutants being addressed by the proposed regulation. Power plants that are smaller than 50 megawatts would not be impacted by these new standards, and the majority of coal-fired power plants would incur no costs under the proposed standards.
The public comment period on the proposed rule will be open for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The agency is under a consent decree to take final action by May 22, 2014.
More information: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/steam-electric/index.cfm
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