States to get bigger role on pollution
Coal-fired plants may see rules relaxed
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is set to roll back the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s efforts to slow global warming, the Clean Power Plan that restricts greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.
A plan to be announced Tuesday would give states broad authority to determine how to restrict carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency announced late Monday that acting administrator Andrew Wheeler planned to brief the news media by telephone Tuesday on what the administration is calling the “Affordable Clean Energy” rule — greenhouse guidelines for states to set performance standards for existing coal-fired power plants.
President Donald Trump is expected to promote the new plan at an appearance in West Virginia today.
The plan is also expected to let states relax pollution rules for power plants that need upgrades.
Combined with a planned rollback of car-mileage standards, the plan represents a significant retreat from Obama-era efforts to fight climate change and would stall an Obama-era push to shift away from coal and toward lesspolluting energy sources such as natural gas, wind and solar power. Trump has already vowed to pull out of the Paris climate agreement as he pushes to revive the coal industry.
Trump also has directed Energy Secretary Rick Perry to take steps to bolster struggling coalfired and nuclear power plants to keep them open, warning that impending retirements of “fuelsecure” power plants that rely on coal and nuclear power are harming the nation’s power grid and reducing its resilience.
A three-page summary being circulated at the White House focuses on boosting efficiency at coal-fired power plants and allowing states to reduce “wasteful compliance costs” while focusing on improved environmental outcomes. Critics say focusing on improved efficiency would allow utilities to run older, dirtier power plants more often, undercutting potential environmental benefits.
The White House rejects that criticism.
“Carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector will continue to fall under this rule, but this will happen legally and with proper respect for the states, unlike” the Clean Power Plan, the summary says.
The AP obtained a copy of the summary, which asserts that the Obama-era plan exceeds the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act.
Obama’s plan was designed to cut U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The rule dictated specific emission targets for states based on power-plant emissions and gave officials broad latitude to decide how to achieve reductions.