Coal-fired Power Plants

An economic opportunity or a threat to the health and livability of our region?

by Rodney Berry
Kathy Strobel, Research Assistant

Relaxed standards and violators

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Local Air Quality Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU) Elmer Smith Power Plant Emissions (2002): 317 tons of carbon monoxide 380 tons of PM-10 12,702 tons of nitrogen oxide 174 tons of PM-2.5 8,402 tons of sulfur dioxide 49 tons of volatile organic emissions   Daviess County Air Quality Rankings: Health Risks, Exposure and Emissions Carbon Monoxide emissions …in the worst/dirtiest 30 percent in U.S. PM-10 emissions …in the worst/dirtiest 40 percent in U.S Nitrogen Oxide emissions …in the worst/dirtiest 10 percent in U.S. PM-2.5 emissions …in the worst/dirtiest 30 percent in U.S. Sulfur Dioxide emissions …in the worst/dirtiest 20 percent in U.S. Volatile Organic Compound emissions …in the worst/dirtiest 20 percent in U.S.   Daviess County Air Quality Index: Ozone 1-hour average concentration …in the best/cleanest 20 percent in U.S. Ozone 8-hour average concentration …in the best/cleanest 20 percent in U.S. PM-2.5 24-hour average concentration …in the best/cleanest 40 percent in U.S. PM-10 24-hour average concentration …in the best/cleanest 10 percent in U.S. Source: Pollution Locator: Smog and Particulates: County Report (www.scorecard.org/env-releases)

The Clean Air Act of the 1970’s included a loophole for older plants that do not comply with new regulations. The majority of these plants are still operating.

In the past 10 years, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took action against 51 power plants in 12 Midwestern and Southern states for pollution violations. However, in June 2001, EPA froze investigations and enforcement actions.
Current EPA regulations require that power plants reduce mercury emissions by 21 percent by 2010 and 70 percent by 2018. States have until November 17, 2006 to adopt their own stricter standards.

In March 2005, however, federal regulations were adopted that, through “banking” (capping and trading), allowed utilities to assign mercury emissions from a complying plant to a non-complying plant. Critics say this essentially allows power plants to postpone compliance until 2018 and may result in concentrated areas of mercury emissions around certain generating stations.

Despite governmental directives, because of various exemptions, EPA estimates that there will only be a 43 percent reduction in mercury emissions by 2026. If regulations were enforced on all (old and new) coal-fired power plants, mercury emissions from power plants already would be reduced by 90 percent.

Some states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota and New Jersey, are placing greater restrictions on mercury emissions. Kentucky has not done so.

The technology is available to reduce mercury emissions to a safe level. A Pennsylvania group promoting tougher mercury emission controls estimates that such controls would cost the average household $1.08 a month.

Opponents of those controls say the plan “would cost billions and billions of dollars” and that utilities should not be expected to install expensive controls since power plant emissions produce such a small percentage of mercury emissions worldwide.

They point to the significant reductions in mercury since the 1990s, and that it is more important to convince other countries, particularly China, to reduce emissions.

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