Benchmarks

Will the changes help or harm generators?

New rules revising the New Source Review (NSR) provision of the Clean Air Act recently were published. The action formalized a process begun several years earlier with the objective of bringing greater clarity to the rule. The new rule is aimed at allowing operators to upgrade equipment at existing power plants without triggering NSR. Should NSR apply, operators would be required to retrofit plants, the majority of which are more than 30 years old, with best available control technology to control for regulated emissions.

The new rules on NSR have been controversial from the start. Some proclaim that the revisions constitute a major rollback of clean air laws, while others have stated that they would boost generation efficiency at existing power plants and lower overall emissions. Those in opposition, in part made up of a coalition of attorney generals in 12 Northeastern states, are moving ahead with a legal challenge.

Created through the 1970 Clean Air Act and then expanded in the 1977 amendments, NSR regulations essentially require a review by the Environmental Protection Agency of any plans by electric utility companies to construct new generating capacity or to substantially modify an existing unit that could result in a significant increase in emissions. At the same time, the provision allows generators to perform routine maintenance of their plants to maintain safe and reliable operation.