The power industry is waiting for a federal appeals court to rule on proposed emissions controls for coal-fired power plants, a decision with implications for energy sectors ranging from natural gas to coal to tradeable pollution permits.
The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is expected as soon as Tuesday to issue its decision on the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, or CSAPR. It delayed the decision on December 30, just two days before the rule was to enter force.
In making the delay, the court sided with industry groups, companies and some states that opposed compliance deadlines and said the rule could make the power market less reliable.
The EPA and environmental groups contended that the CSAPR rule would improve air quality for 240 million people across the eastern United States.
The EPA's rule aimed to control emissions from sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide -- pollutants that cause acid rain and smog -- from power plants in 28 mostly eastern states. The reasoning is that unhealthy emissions from those plants cross state lines.
CSAPR also established a cap-and-trade system that enabled power producers to comply with the emission limits by buying, trading and selling pollution permits.
Power generators, such as Southern Co and Energy Future Holdings, had argued that the January 1 implementation date was too soon and did not give them enough time to design and install pollution control equipment needed to comply.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/us-usa-epa-court-idUSBRE8681ED20120709
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