October 11, 2011

STEAM ELECTRIC ELG 

RULEMAKING

UMRA AND FEDERALISM IMPLICATIONS: 

CONSULTATION MEETING
 Background

 Timeline

 Profile of Potentially Affected Entities

 Considerations of Rulemaking

 Appendix - List of Potentially Affected Entities

AGENDA

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 Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG)

 National standards, based on performance of treatment and control 

technologies, for wastewater discharges to surface water and 

municipal sewage treatment plants

 Developed on an industry-by-industry basis

 Represent pollutant reductions that are economically achievable for 

an industry using the best available technology.

 ELG implementation 

 Direct dischargers: Implemented through National Pollutant 

Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program

 Indirect dischargers: Implemented through national pretreatment 

program

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BACKGROUND
 Steam Electric Power Generating ELG (40 CFR 423):

 Facilities “primarily engaged in the generation of electricity for 

distribution and sale which results primarily from a process utilizing 

fossil-type fuel (coal, oil, or gas) or nuclear fuel in conjunction with a 

thermal cycle employing the steam water system as the 

thermodynamic medium.”

 Relevance to State, local and tribal governments

 As steam electric plant owners (e.g., municipal utilities)

 As regulators (e.g., NPDES program implementation)

BACKGROUND (CONT’D)

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 1982: EPA finalizes current effluent guidelines

 2005: Annual ELG review highlights Steam Electric industry as major 

contributor of toxic and nonconventional pollutants

 Significant process and technology changes since 1982

 Fall 2009

 Detailed Study completed

 EPA announces its intent to update the effluent guidelines

 Summer 2010: Information Collection Request (ICR)

 Detailed questionnaire sent to 733 facilities, out of approximately 1,200 fossil 

and nuclear-fueled steam electric power plants

 All coal- and petroleum coke-fired units and sample of oil, natural gas, and 

nuclear units

 Gather technical information about plant processes, effluent and waste 

characteristics and financial/economic data

 July 2012: Proposed regulation

 January 2014: Final regulation

 2014 – 2019: Implement new requirements through 5-year NPDES 

permit cycle

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TIMELINE
 Approximately 500 plants with coal -fired units

 Many steam-fueled generating units are “base-load” 

with generally high capacity factors

 Account for approximately 48% of nationwide net 

generation

 ~40 plants with oil-fired units

 Many oil-fired generating units are peaking units 

with low capacity utilization

 Approximately 1 percent of nationwide net 

generation

 ~200 plants with natural gas -fired units

 22% of nationwide net generation

 63 nuclear plants

 19% of nationwide net generation

 Fossil-fueled steam-turbine generating units 

range in size (nameplate capacity) from 1 MW 

to more than 1 ,000 MW

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PROFILE OF STEAM ELECTRIC INDUSTRY

Steam Electric Plants, by Fuel
 Industry includes investor-owned, publicly -owned, and rural 

cooperatives

 Investor-owned utilities: For-profit businesses organized as individual 

corporations or holding companies

 Publicly-owned electric utilities: State authorities, municipalities, 

political subdivisions, and Federally -owned facilities

 Cooperative electric utilities (“coops”): Member-owned entities 

established under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, provide 

electricity to small rural and farming communities 

 Plants often have multiple owners with varying shares in 

different generation units

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PROFILE OF POTENTIALLY AFFECTED 

ENTITIES
DRAFT - 5/22/2011 8

PROFILE OF PLANTS OWNED BY GOVERNMENT 

ENTITIES AND COOPERATIVES

B a s e d o n s u r vey r e s p o n s e s ( o u t o f a to t a l o f 6 77 

p la n t s w it h in t h e s c o p e o f t h e s u r vey ) :

 1 5 8 st a tes/ lo c a l g over n m en t s a n d 

c o o p e r a t ive s a r e e s t im a te d to b e p o te n t ially 

im p a c te d by t h e r e g u la t io n

 T h e s e e n t it ie s h ave ow n e r s h ip ( o r p a r t 

ow n e r s h ip ) in 1 8 2 p la n t s

 A g ove r n m e n t e n t it ie s is t h e d o m in a n t ow n e r 

in 1 5 2 s u r veye d p la n t s

G o v e r n m e n t-O w n e d P l a n t s b y F u e l T y p e

G o v e r n m e n t-O w n e d P l a n t s b y N a m e p l a t e C a p a c i t y

 T h e 1 8 2 g ove r n m e n t-own e d p la n t s in s u r vey 

a c c o u n t fo r ~ 10 0,000 M W in a g g r e g a te 

n a m e p la te p owe r g e n e r a t io n c a p a c it y

 P la n t n a m e p la te p owe r g e n e r a t io n c a p a c it ies 

r a n g e f ro m le s s t h a n 2 0 M W to ove r 3 , 3 00M W 

( M e d ia n 4 0 0M W )
CONSIDERATIONS OF RULEMAKING

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 Scope of rulemaking

 Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater

 Ash handling (fly ash, bottom ash)

 Landfill operations (leachate)

 Other waste streams, if warranted

 Subcategorization, if warranted

 Coordination with other EPA rules affecting Steam Electric 

industry

 Energy supply impacts

 Supply impacts on marginal, low-capacity factor, peaking units

 Compliance could result in closure

 Some oil-fired plants are required to have oil capability for times of 

natural gas shortages (e.g., adverse weather conditions)

 Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), 

Federalism, Unfunded Mandate Reform Act, and Tribal 

considerations

 Environmental Justice and Children’s Health considerations
 UMRA: “Federal mandates” that might result in expenditures 

by State, local, and Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or 

by the private sector, of $100 million* or more in any one 

year

 UMRA analysis

 Include State, local, and Tribal governments (exclude Federal 

governments) 

 Determine the domestic parent entity(ies) for each plant that will 

incur direct compliance costs 

 Calculate parent entity-level compliance costs

 Evaluate magnitude of the regulatory impact on government entities, 

considering: 

 Compliance costs incurred by government entities owning facilities

 Administrative costs incurred to implement the revised Steam Electric 

ELGs. 

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UMRA AND FEDERALISM

* Indexed. The current threshold is $147 million.
 Federalism: “Substantial direct effects on the States, on the 

relationship between the national government and the States, 

or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government.” (E.O. 13132)

 EPA’s Numerical tests for “substantial direct effects”

 Annualized direct compliance costs to state and local governments 

$25 million or more, in the aggregate, in any one year 

 Annualized direct compliance costs to state and local governments 

equal or greater than 1% of annual revenues of small governments

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UMRA AND FEDERALISM ( C O NT ’ D )
 EPA identified facilities using the questionnaire responses.

 Ownership shares for all entities

 Industry sector (NAICS code), total electric generation, revenue, and 

employment data obtained for parent entities

 Population data from U.S. Census

 Complemented with data from EIA, FERC, Dun & Bradstreet, Standard & 

Poor’s, and American Business Information 

 Additional screening for small government entities

 Preliminary findings (based on survey of 677 Steam Electric 

plants):

 158 states/local governments and cooperatives are estimated to be 

potentially impacted by the regulation, based on ownership (or part 

ownership) in 182 plants

 Government entity is the dominant owner (largest ownership share) in 

152 of these plants

 108 small government or cooperative entities have ownership shares in 

121 steam electric plants

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IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIALLY 

AFFECTED GOVERNMENT ENTITIES
 Project Lead: 

 Ron Jordan, 202-566-1003, jordan.ronald@epa.gov

 Federalism Contacts: 

 James Covington, 202-566-1034, covington.james@epa.gov

 Andrew Hanson, 202-564-3664, hanson.andrew@epa.gov

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QUESTIONS?
Appendix

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POTENTIALLY AFFECTED 

STATE AND LOCAL 

GOVERNMENT ENTITIES
Name State Number of Plants

Central Valley Financing Authority CA 1

Kansas City Board of Public Utilities KS 2

Lower Colorado River Authority TX 3

Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company MA 1

Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia GA 4

Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska NE 2

Nebraska Public Power District NE 3

North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency NC 2

Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority OK 1

Platte River Power Authority CO 1

Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District AZ 8

Santee Cooper SC 4

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency MN 1

State of California, Department of Water Resources CA 1

Texas Municipal Power Agency TX 1

Utah Municipal Power Agency UT 2

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 

POTENTIALLY SUBJECT TO REGULATION

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N o n - S m a l l S t a t e / R e g i o n a l G o v e r n m e n t s 

Preliminary list based on plants covered by survey
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS POTENTIALLY 

SUBJECT TO REGULATION (CONT’D) 

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Name State Number of Plants

City of Corona CA 1

City of Glendale CA 1

City of Los Angeles, CA CA 2

City of Pasadena - Department of Water and Power, Power Division CA 1

LADWP -Power System CA 1

Colorado Springs Utilities CO 3

City of Gainesville,Gainesville Regional Utilities FL 2

City of Tallahassee FL 2

Dept. of Electric Utilities, City of Lakeland FL 1

JEA FL 3

Orlando Utilites Commission FL 1

Ames Municipal Electric Services IA 1

Springfield, Illinois- Office of Public Utilities IL 1

Owensboro Municipal Utilities KY 1

City of Lafayette, LA LA 1

Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant MA 2

Lansing Board of Water and Light MI 2

Rochester Public Utilities MN 1

City of Columbia Missouri MO 1

City of Independence MO 2

City of Springfield, MO MO 2

Public Works Commission of the City of Fayetteville, NC NC 1

City of Lincoln, NE NE 2

Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) NE 2

City of Vineland NJ 1

City of Hamilton Electric Department OH 1

Heartland Consumers Power District SD 1

Brownsville Public Utilities Board TX 3

City of Austin, TX TX 1

CPS Energy TX 3

Garland Power & Light TX 2

Clark Public Utilities WA 1

N o n - S m a l l M u n i c i p a l G o v e r n m e n t s 

Preliminary list based on plants covered by survey
Town/City/Municipality State Number of 

Plants

City of Lamar CO 1

City of Dover DE 1

City of Dalton, GA GA 2

Crisp County Power Commission GA 1

Alta Municipal Utilities IA 1

Atlantic, IA IA 1

City of Algona, Iowa IA 1

City of Bancroft, IA IA 1

City of Elridge, IA IA 2

City of Harlan, IA IA 1

City of Milford, IA IA 1

City of Montezuma, IA IA 1

City of Pella, IA IA 1

City of Tipton, IA IA 1

Coon Rapids, IA IA 1

Graettinger, IA IA 1

Laurens, IA IA 1

Muscatine Power and Water IA 1

New Hampton, IA IA 1

Pella, City of IA 1

Spencer, IA IA 2

Sumner, IA IA 1

The Municipal Electric Utility of the City of Cedar Falls IA 3

Waverly, IA IA 2

Webster City, IA IA 1

West Bend, IA IA 1

City of Geneseo, IL IL 1

City of Jasper IN 1

Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power IN 1

Logansport Municipal Electric IN 1

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STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS POTENTIALLY 

SUBJECT TO REGULATION (CONT’D) 

Town/City/Municipality State Number 

of Plants

Peru Utilities IN 1

Richmond Power & Light IN 1

Hudson, MA MA 1

City of Escanaba MI 1

City of Grand Haven Board of Light and Power MI 1

City of Wyandotte, Department of Municipal Service MI 1

Holland BPW MI 1

Marquette Board of Light and Power MI 1

Austin Utilities MN 1

Hibbing Public Utilities MN 1

Hutchinson Utilities Comm MN 1

New Ulm Public Utilities MN 1

Northern Municipal Power Agency MN 1

Virginia Public Utilities MN 1

Willmar Municipal Utilities MN 1

City of New Madrid, MO MO 1

MMU MO 1

Sikeston BMU MO 1

Clarksdale Public Utilities MS 1

Greenwood Utilities Commission MS 1

City of Fremont, Nebraska NE 1

City of Grand Island NE 2

Hastings Utilities NE 1

City of Farmington Electric Utility System NM 1

Jamestown Board of Public Utilities NY 1

City of Dover - Ohio OH 1

City of Orrville OH 1

City of Painesville OH 1

City of Shelby OH 1

Manitowoc Public Utilities WI 1

Preliminary list based on plants covered by survey

S m a l l M u n i c i p a l G o v e r n m e n t s 
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STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS POTENTIALLY 

SUBJECT TO REGULATION (CONT’D) 

Name State Number of

Plants

PowerSouth Energy Cooperative AL 2

Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation AR 2

Southern California Public Power Authority CA 1

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. CO 5

Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. FL 1

MEAG Power GA 1

Oglethorpe Power Corporation GA 3

Hoosier Energy REC, Inc IN 3

Indiana Municipal Power Agency IN 2

Wabash Valley Power Association, Inc. IN 3

Big Rivers Electric Corporation KY 5

East Kentucky Power Co- operative KY 3

Great River Energy MN 2

Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. MO 3

Missouri River Energy Services MO 1

South Mississippi Electric Power Association MS 1

Basin Electric Power Cooperative ND 3

Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc. ND 1

Buckeye Power, Inc. OH 1

GRDA OK 1

WFEC OK 3

Brazos Electric Power Cooperative TX 1

Deseret Generation & Transmission Cooperative UT 2

Intermountain Power Agency UT 1

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems UT 1

Dairyland Power Cooperative WI 3

WPPI Energy WI 1

N o n - S m a l l C o o p e r a t i v e s 

Preliminary list based on plants covered by survey
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STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS POTENTIALLY 

SUBJECT TO REGULATION (CONT’D) 

Name State Number of

Plants

Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc. AK 1

Arizona Electric Power Coop, Inc. AZ 1

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative HI 1

Central Iowa Power Cooperative IA 3

Corn Belt Power Cooperative IA 3

Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative IA 1

Illinois Municipal Electric Agency IL 1

Prairie Power Inc IL 1

Southern Illinois Power Cooperative IL 1

Kansas Electric Power Cooperative KS 1

Mid-Kansas Electric Company, LLC KS 1

Sunflower Electric Power Corporation KS 2

Louisiana Energy & Power Authority LA 2

Michigan South Central Power Agency MI 1

MMPA MN 1

Central Electric Power Cooperative MO 1

Square Butte Electric Cooperative ND 1

Power Resources Cooperative OR 1

San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc. TX 1

Wyoming Municipal Power Agency WY 1

S m a l l C o o p e r a t i v e s 

Preliminary list based on plants covered by survey