# RI Bar Environment and Energy

Committee Talk Curt Spalding November 21, 2014

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# Outline for Talk

• Policy Update: Clean Power Plan (walk through)

• Regional Priorities and Updates • Challenges with Nutrients in Iconic Waterbodies • Lake Champlain • Cape Cod 

### • Narragansett Bay


### • Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program


### • Superfund Site Progress
• New Approach for Business • E - Enterprise • Integrating Strategy 2

# CLEAN POWER PLAN

Proposed Carbon Pollution Standards For Existing 

# Power Plants

# Outline

• President’s Climate Action Plan • Background on Clean Air Act Section 111(d) 

## • Setting State Goals • Flexibilities Available to States • Costs and Benefits • How to comment

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# President’s Climate Action Plan

• Reduce carbon pollution from power plants
• Prepare the U.S. for the impacts of climate change
• Lead international efforts to 

## address global climate change

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# This Proposal Deals With the Largest Source of GHG Emissions in the U.S.

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# Reducing Carbon Pollution From Power Plants President’s Directive to EPA: Develop carbon pollution standards, regulations or guidelines, as appropriate, for: 1. New power plants • Proposed: January 8, 2014 

## 2. Modified and reconstructed power plants • Proposal: June 2014 • Final : June 2015 

## 3. Existing power plants • Proposed Guidelines: June 2014 • Final Guidelines: June 2015 • State Plans due: June 2016

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## • Establishes a mechanism for controlling air pollution from stationary sources
• Applies to sources for which the Administrator, in her judgment, 

### finds “causes, or contributes significantly to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare” • Can apply to new, existing, modified and reconstructed sources.


## • More than 70 stationary source categories and subcategories are currently regulated under section 111
• A full list of sources regulated under section 111 can be found in 40 CFR Part 60
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# EPA’s Regulatory Approach Clean Air Act Section 111

## • Lays out different approaches for new and existing sources • New sources under section 111(b) • Federal standards for new, modified and reconstructed sources 

## • Existing sources under section 111(d) • State programs for existing sources that are equivalent to federal guidelines 

## • Applies the “Best System of Emissions Reduction ” (BSER) • Feasibility • Costs • Technology • Size of Reductions 9 

# EPA’s Regulatory Approach Clean Air Act Section 111

# States and Communities with Programs That Reduce Carbon Pollution

State programs that reduce carbon include carbon cap and trade programs and energy efficiency and renewable energy standards or goals. 10Building Block Strategy EPA Used to Calculate the State Goal Maximum Flexibility: Examples of State Compliance Measures 1. Make fossil fuel -fired power plants more efficient Efficiency Improvements Efficiency improvements Co-firing or switching to natural gas Coal retirements Retrofit CCS (e.g.,WA Parish in Texas) 2. Use lower-emitting power sources more Dispatch changes to existing natural gas combined cycle (CC) Dispatch changes to existing natural gas CC 3. Build more zero/lowemitting energy sources Renewable Energy Certain Nuclear New NGCC Renewables Nuclear (new and up - rates) New coal with CCS 4. Use electricity more efficiently Demand -side energy efficiency programs Demand -side energy efficiency programs Transmission efficiency improvements Energy storage 11

# State Performance Goals (lbs/ MWh )

State 2012 Fossil

Emission Rate 1 Interim Goal (2020 - 2029 average) 2 Final Goal (2030

and thereafter) 2 Connecticut 844 597 540 Maine 873 393 378 Massachusetts 1,001 655 576 New Hampshire 1,119 546 486 Rhode Island 918 822 782
12 1 From Goal Computation Technical Support Document, Appendix 5 – 2012 Emissions Rate and Building Block Application 2 From Table 1 to Subpart UUUU of Part 60 – State Rate-Based CO2 Emission Performance Goals, Proposed

# Flexibilities Available To States

• Timing: • Up to 15 -year window in which to plan for and achieve reductions in carbon pollution. • U p to two or three years to submit final plans. • Form of goal: States can use either a rate - based or mass - based goal. • Single or multi -state plans: States can collaborate and develop plans on a multi -state basis. • Selection of measures : • States will choose how to meet the goal through whatever collection of measures reflects its particular circumstances and policy objectives. • State measures may impact and, in fact may be explicitly designed to reduce, CO 2 emissions from utilities on a regional basis. • EPA would support building off existing reduction programs.

1322% 12%

-20%

-71%

-93% -100% -80% -60% -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 

## New England Economic Growth and ISO New England

System Emissions, 1999 - 2012

New England GDP Total Generation CO2 Emissions NOx Emissions SO2 Emissions Data Sources: 2012 ISO New England Electric Generator Air Emissions Report, US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis 14

# Benefits and Costs

• Estimated costs of the plan are $7.3 billion to $8.8 billion in 2030. 

### • Estimated benefits by 2030 • CO2 emissions from the power sector reduced by approximately 30% from 2005 levels. • Pollutants that contribute to the soot and smog reduced by over 25% • Avoid an estimated 2,700 to 6,600 premature deaths • Avoid 140,000 to 150,000 asthma attacks • These reductions will lead to public health and climate benefits worth an estimated $55 billion to $93 billion in 2030. 

### • Health and climate benefits far outweigh the estimated annual costs of meeting the standards. • Proposal protects children and other vulnerable Americans from the health threats posed by a range of pollutants. 

### • Move us toward a cleaner, more stable environment for future generations. • Ensures an ongoing supply of the reliable, affordable power needed for economic growth. 15

# Recent Announcements

• Technical Support Document: “Translation of the Clean Power Plan 

### Emission Rate - Based CO2 Goals to Mass - Based Equivalents”

• Supplemental Proposal to address sources in Puerto Rico, Guam and 

### Indian Territory

• Notice of Data Availability addressing: • Trajectory/glide p ath of emission reductions 2020- 2029 • Aspects of the way building blocks are established • The way state goals are established

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# Commenting on the Proposal

• The proposed rule, as well as information about how to comment 

### and supporting technical information, are available online at: http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan



### • The comment period for the Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule will close on December 1, 2014.

• The comment period for the Clean Power Plan Supplemental 

### Proposed Rule will close on December 19, 2014.

• Comments on the proposal and supplemental proposal should be 

### identified by Docket ID No.

EPA- HQ- OAR- 2013 -0602 .
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# Regional Update19 

# Nutrients and Iconic Ecosystems20 

# Lake Champlain21 

# Cape Cod22 

# Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Program23 

# Superfund Site Progress24 

# New Approach for Business