Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 4
EPA
S
TANDARDS FOR
G
REENHOUSE
G
AS
E
MISSIONS FROM
P
OWER
P
LANTS
:
M
ANY
Q
UESTIONS
,
S
OME
A
NSWERS
James E. McCarthy
S
UMMARY
As President Obama announced initiatives addressing climate change
on June 25, 2013, a major focus of attention was on the prospect of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for fossilfueled—mostly coal-
fired—electric generating units (EGUs). EGUs (more commonly referred
to as power plants) are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions,
accounting for about one-third of total U.S. GHGs. If the country is going
to reduce its GHG emissions by significant amounts, as the President has
committed to do, emissions from these sources will almost certainly need
to be controlled.
The President addressed this issue on June 25 by directing EPA to re-
propose GHG emission standards for new EGUs, which the agency had
proposed in April 2012, but had not yet finalized. He also directed the
agency to develop standards for existing power plants by June 2015.
Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA Administrator has a great deal of
flexibility in setting these standards. The statute requires that New Source
Performance Standards (NSPS) reflect the degree of emission limitation
