US proposes water pollution rules for power plants
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E-mail Xinhua, April 20, 2013
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday proposed four options that may help reduce dangerous pollutants released into America's waterways by coal-fired power plants.
These options differ in the number of waste streams covered, the size of the units controlled and the stringency of the treatment controls to be imposed, said the EPA. It will take comment on all of these options, which, it said, will be used to help inform the most appropriate final standard.
"Reducing the pollution of our waters through effective but flexible controls such as we are proposing today is a win-win for our public health and our economic vitality," said acting administrator Bob Perciasepe in a statement. "We look forward to hearing from all stakeholders on the best way forward."
The proposed national standards are based on data collected from industry and provide flexibility in implementation through a phased-in approach and use of technologies already installed at a number of plants. Under the proposed approach, new requirements for existing power plants would be phased in between 2017 and 2022, and would leverage flexibilities as necessary, according to the EPA.
Fewer than half of coal-fired power plants are estimated to incur costs under any of the proposed preferred options, because many power plants already have the technology and procedures in place to meet the proposed pollution control standards, the EPA said.
There are approximately 1,200 power plants in the U.S. Approximately 500 of these power plants are coal fired units which are the primary source of the pollutants. Power plants that are smaller than 50 megawatts would not be impacted by these new standards.
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