http://www.news-press.com/article/20111221/GREEN/111221031/1007/RSS0105
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency on Wednesday released controversial new air-pollution
standards that could force expensive upgrades at some Florida power plants ---
but have been long-sought by environmental and health advocates.
The standards will require
hundreds of coal-fired power plants across the country to make improvements to
curb emissions of mercury and other pollutants such as arsenic and nickel.
Progress Energy
"By the EPA’s own
estimate, this rule is the most expensive in its history and it has the
potential to have significant impacts on consumers,'' Bill Johnson, president
and chief executive officer of Progress Energy, the parent of the Florida
subsidiary. "We will work collaboratively with our state regulators to
develop implementation strategies that will ensure compliance in the most cost-effective
way for our customers and that protect the reliability of our system.''
But EPA Administrator Lisa
Jackson said during a news conference at a
"In and of itself,
this is a great victory for public health, especially for the health of our
children,''
The standards will have
varying impacts on electric utilities, which the EPA says generally will have
four years to comply. For example, Tampa Electric Co. spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs
said the utility has spent about $1.2 billion during the past decade on
power-plant upgrades and has reduced mercury emissions by about 90 percent.
"Because of those
investments, the company is well-positioned to comply with the EPA's new rule
within the proposed timeline,'' Jacobs said in an e-mail.
Similarly, Florida Power
& Light, the state's largest utility, relies heavily on natural gas to fuel
plants. The company has said it is well-positioned to comply with the
regulations.
The standards stem, at least in part, from a 2000 determination by the EPA
that steps should be taken to control mercury emissions from power plants. But
as the EPA has worked to finalize the standards in recent months, the agency
has drawn criticism from some utilities and Republicans.
In October, Florida Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi joined 24 other
states in calling for EPA to delay implementation of the standards.
"We cannot allow Floridians, many of whom are already suffering
financial hardships, to bear the brunt of costly federal regulations,'' Bondi
said at the time.
Before the release Wednesday, the EPA made changes to earlier proposals for
the standards. Sandy Sims, a spokeswoman for Pensacola-based Gulf Power, said
the company will review the final version and look at options for complying.
"Our main concern is how best to continue to provide reliable,
affordable and environmentally responsible electricity to our customers,'' she
said in an e-mail.
But Kirk Fordham, chief executive officer of the Everglades Foundation,
praised the standards.
"We applaud the Obama administration for
issuing this rule,'' Fordham said. "It's a long time coming. Any global
efforts to reduce methylmercury benefits Florida, not just the Everglades but
throughout the state.''