| clean air regulation advances
Transport Rule Final: CSAPR Set for Effect in 2012
By ROBERT UKEILEY
The;U.S.;Environmental;Protection;Agency;(EPA) finalized its latest “cap and trade” air pollution con- trol;rule;on;Aug.;8.;In;draft;form,;this;was;often;called
the;Transport;Rule,;but;in;final;form;EPA;refers;to;it;as
the;Cross-State;Air;Pollution;Rule;(CSAPR),;usually;pro-nounced;“Casper.”;CSAPR;is;designed;to;reduce;ground-level ozone (commonly called smog) and particulate matter of less than 2. 5 microns (commonly called soot), in
27;states;in;the;Eastern;half;of;the;United;States.;CSAPR
achieves reductions in smog and soot by limiting emissions
of soot and smog precursors from fossil fuel-fired electric
generating units.
CSAPR;is;the;latest;and;most;stringent;in;a;series;of
rules;dating;back;to;1995.;It;is;the;most;stringent;in;both
the overall amount of pollution it allows (the cap), and in
how;polluters;can;trade;their;pollution;allocations.;CSAPR
allows two levels of pollution. The first begins in 2012 and
the second, more stringent level should hopefully come into
place;in;2014.;I;say;hopefully;because;polluters;will;chal-
lenge;CSAPR;in;court,;which;could;delay;implementation,
or even dismantle the rule.
In;terms;of;smart;regulations,;CSAPR;is;a;superstar.;It
will cost approximately $2.4 billion in 2014 and save the
country between $120 billion and $280 billion annually,
mainly in health care costs.
It is relatively easy to figure out how significantly
CSAPR;is;going;to;impact;an;individual;utility;and;thus
how much it will drive that utility’s need for emission
reductions. These reductions can come from increased use
of renewable energy and from energy-efficiency measures.
You can find out the scale of each utility’s pollution budget
here:;epa.gov/airtransport/techinfo.html.
Robert Ukeiley (rukeiley
@ igc.org) is a lawyer
who represents environmental nonprofits in
Clean Air Act litigation
affecting energy issues.
CSAPR is a superstar. It will save
the country between $120 billion
and $280 billion annually, mainly in
health care costs.
If;you;know;the;names;of;the;utility’s;power;plants,;you
can look up their actual 2010 emissions using the Unit Level
Emissions;Quick;Report,;here:;bit.ly/cleanairmarkets.
If;the;utility’s;actual;2010;emissions;are;significantly
higher;than;the;utility’s;budgeted;emissions;under;CSAPR,
the utility should now be considering ways to rapidly reduce
its emissions, including rapid implementation of renewable
energy and energy efficiency.
NATIONAl SOlAR POWER
Mega PV Project
Coming to Florida
National Solar Power, a Melbourne, Fla.-based devel-
oper, is new to the industry, with not a single development
under its belt. Its first move? A $1.5 billion, 400-M W PV solar
farm being planned for Gadsden County, Fla., in the Florida
panhandle region. At left, James Scrivener, National Solar
Power’s CEO, discusses the project with local businesses
and community leaders.
