UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON
, 0 C

. 20460 

# AUG 19 2011

OFFICE OF .AIR AND RA[)IATI(IN Mr. J.D. Herring, City Manager City ofQuitman 100 West Screven Street P.O. Box 208 Quitman, Georgia 31643

Dear Mr. Herring:

Thank you for your letter ofJuly 27, 2011, to Administrator Lisa Jackson, expressing concern over potential impacts ofthe proposed "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal- and Oil-fired Electric Utility Stearn Generating Units and Standards ofPerfonnancefor FossilFuel-Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small Industrial-CommercialInstitutional Stearn Generating Units" (the Mercury and Air Toxics Standardsrule, MATS), which was published in the FederalRegister on May 3, 20 1

### t. The Administrator asked that I respond on her behalf.

The U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency carefully analyzed the issue ofelectric supply, working closely with the DepartmentofEnergy (DOE). Our modeling shows that these proposed standards would result in relatively small changes in the average retail price ofelectricity, primarily due to increased demand for natural gas, keeping electricity prices below 1990 levels. This translates into a 1.3 percent increase in residential natural gas prices and a consumer electricity price increase of approximately $3-4 permonth.

The proposed standards, which will save thousands oflives and preventtens ofthousands ofasthmaand heart attacks, are both reasonable and achievable, and many sources already are meetingthem. Investing inpollutioncontrol atpowerplants creates high-quality Americanjobs in manufacturing steel, cement, and other materials needed to build pollution control equipment, and in installing, operating and maintaining that equipment. The EPA estimates this proposed rule will provide employment for thousands by supporting 31,000 short-tenn constructionjobs and 9,000 long-tenn utilityjobs. These jobswould be distributed nationwide, in proportion to the number ofcoal-fired units that need upgrades.

The EPA, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the DOE will work with entities whose responsibility is to ensure an affordable, reliable supply ofelectricity, including State Utility Commissions, Regional Transmission Organizations and the National Electric Reliability Council to share infonnation and encourage them to begin planning for compliance and reliability as early as possible. This will ensure orderly, affordable compliance with the proposed standards. Energy efficiency investments that achieve moderate levels ofenergy demand reduction in compliance strategies can also substantially cuttotal emissions control costs for the power sector.

Internet Address IURL)• hI p 'I'hww epa gov Recycled/Recyclable' pnnted W Ith Vegetable 011 Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer Process Chlor,ne Free RecVCled PaperWith regard to the compliance period, the Clean Air Act gives existingunits three years to comply. State and local permitting authorities (ratherthan the EPA) are allowed, under certain circumstances, to provide for an additional year and the EPA will supportthis permitting authority flexibility where appropriate.
Again, thank you for your letter. Itwill be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking. I appreciate the opportunity to beofservice and trust the information provided is helpful.
Sincerely,

cCarthy AssistantAdministrator