EPA orders Texas to cut other states’ pollution

July 8–A federal rule announced Thursday could force a substantial number of Texas power plants to add more pollution controls to reduce emissions that contribute to health-threatening smog.

Dallas-Fort Worth, which is in violation of the federal ozone standard, could benefit from reductions in emissions from power plants in Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and East Texas as a result of the rule, Al Armendariz, regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said in a telephone interview.

The EPA estimates that the new Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, applicable in 27 states and effective Jan. 1, will prevent 670 to 1,700 premature deaths in Texas every year, Armendariz said.

He said the estimates are compiled by economists and health scientists.

Nitrogen oxides emitted by the plants contribute not only to smog, but also to soot.

The new rule would also curb emissions of sulfur dioxide, which contributes to soot and acid rain.

In terms of health benefits, “I think this is one of the most important rules the agency has ever published,” Armendariz said.

The EPA estimates that the rule will protect 240 million Americans from smog and soot pollution, preventing up to 34,000 premature deaths, 15,000 nonfatal heart attacks, 19,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 400,000 cases of aggravated asthma and 1.8 million sick days a year beginning in 2014 — “achieving up to $280 billion in annual health benefits.”

The benefits will “far outweigh” the $800 million in projected annual costs for compliance with the new rule and an estimated $1.6 billion per year in capital expenditures to comply with a previous rule, the agency said.

But not everyone is happy about the new rule.

Gov. Rick Perry, in a statement, said it “is another example of heavy-handed and misguided action from Washington, D.C., that threatens Texas jobs and families and puts at risk the reliable and affordable electricity our state needs to succeed.”

Perry, considered a potential contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, said the Obama administration “seems intent on increasing energy costs for American consumers.”

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said it was “outrageous” that the administration would issue the rule, which “will adversely affect thousands of Texas jobs creators and electricity consumers.”

But the EPA estimates it will increase a typical family’s home electric bill by “less than $1” per month, Armendariz said.

The rule applies to 27 states with power-plant pollution that contributes to unhealthy air downwind in other states. Windblown emissions from Texas power plants are believed to contribute to air pollution in Louisiana, Illinois and Michigan, Armendariz said.

Three environmental groups — the Sierra Club, Public Citizen and Environmental Integrity Project — praised the rule as “a new safeguard to protect Americans from dangerous pollution from coal-fired power plants.” Environment Texas also expressed support.

The rule is expected to particularly affect Texas, the nation’s leading power generator and consumer as well as home to 19 coal-fired plants, more than any other state.

Luminant, the Dallas-based power generator and owner of 12 Texas coal plants, complained in a statement that the rule “will have a disproportionate impact” on the state, noting that the 26 percent reduction in nationwide sulfur dioxide emissions required by 2012 is in Texas.

The state will be required to slash its sulfur dioxide emissions by 47 percent from 2010, Luminant said.

The rule imposes “wholly unreasonable mandates and unrealistic timelines for Texas,” Luminant complained.

Power generators might close some plants rather than bear the cost of complying with the new rules.

Armendariz said that some older, less efficient coal plants have already been shut down and that low natural gas prices are making that fuel increasingly attractive for power generation.