> Existing rules require U.S. utilities and refineries to invest in > state-of-the-art pollution controls if a plant undergoes a major > expansion or modification. The issue is pivotal for aging coal-fired > utilities in the Midwest that could face hundreds of millions of dollars > in new investments. Under the proposed rules, the EPA would change the > definition of "routine maintenance" to give utilities more leeway to > modify a plant without triggering extra pollution-reduction requirements.So let's say that a coal fired power plant wanted to upgrade their steam turbines to a new design that was 15 percent more efficient than their previous design. Under the old (Clinton era) rules, this would trigger the EPA to force "new source review"; killing the upgrade because of the hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade the entire plant to the highest achievable standards. So instead of being 15 percent more efficient, plants are only being maintained and not improved. Maybe you would like to explain how in this case the Clinton era policy actually helps the environment? The Bush "rollback" consists of putting the "new source review" back to where it belongs, namely in ensuring that any new power plant be built to utilize the best pollution fighting technology available. Old coal plants are by definition "old". They should be allowed to upgrade as necessary without being burdened with regulations that only brand new power plants should adhere to. > Critics also warned that the new proposal could endanger ongoing > lawsuits brought by the EPA against nine U.S. utilities to enforce the > new source review rules. Always important to sue utility companies. It's only one of the ways the government makes everything we buy just a little more expensive. And maybe a little less cleaner than they should be. Hanging with the Anti-Christ, Matthew Bos
Rah rah! Another true answer, not rhetoric like the journalists like to push.
Your posts are too few and far between Matthew, but quality makes up for quantity a hundred-fold.
Kevin T.
No added value(my post)
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