I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1119 
To establish the bases by which the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall issue, implement, and enforce certain emission 
limitations and allocations for existing electric utility steam generating 
units that convert coal refuse into energy. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2017 
Mr. ROTHFUS (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. MCKINLEY, 
Mr. BARLETTA, and Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To establish the bases by which the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency shall issue, implement, 
and enforce certain emission limitations and allocations 
for existing electric utility steam generating units that 
convert coal refuse into energy. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Satisfying Energy 
Needs and Saving the Environment Act’’ or the ‘‘SENSE 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR COAL REFUSE POWER PLANTS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) BOILER OPERATING DAY.—The term ‘‘boiler 
operating day’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 63.10042 of title 40, Code of Federal Regu-
lations, or any successor regulation. 
(3) COAL
REFUSE.—The term ‘‘coal refuse’’ 
means any byproduct of coal mining, physical coal 
cleaning, or coal preparation operation that contains 
coal, matrix material, clay, and other organic and in-
organic material. 
(4) COAL
REFUSE
ELECTRIC
UTILITY
STEAM 
GENERATING UNIT.—The term ‘‘coal refuse electric 
utility steam generating unit’’ means an electric util-
ity steam generating unit that— 
(A) is in operation as of the date of enact-
ment of this Act; 
(B) uses fluidized bed combustion tech-
nology to convert coal refuse into energy; and 
(C) uses coal refuse as at least 75 percent 
of the annual fuel consumed, by heat input, of 
the unit. 
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(5) COAL REFUSE-FIRED FACILITY.—The term 
‘‘coal refuse-fired facility’’ means all coal refuse elec-
tric utility steam generating units that are— 
(A) located on one or more contiguous or 
adjacent properties; 
(B) specified within the same Major Group 
(2-digit code), as described in the Standard In-
dustrial Classification Manual (1987); and 
(C) under common control of the same 
person (or persons under common control). 
(6) CROSS-STATE AIR POLLUTION RULE.—The 
terms 
‘‘Cross-State 
Air 
Pollution 
Rule’’ 
and 
‘‘CSAPR’’ mean the regulatory program promul-
gated by the Administrator to address the interstate 
transport of air pollution in parts 51, 52, and 97 of 
title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, including any 
subsequent or successor regulation. 
(7) ELECTRIC
UTILITY
STEAM
GENERATING 
UNIT.—The term ‘‘electric utility steam generating 
unit’’ means either or both— 
(A) an electric utility steam generating 
unit, as such term is defined in section 
63.10042 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula-
tions, or any successor regulation; or 
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(B) an electricity generating unit or elec-
tric generating unit, as such terms are used in 
CSAPR. 
(8) PHASE I.—The term ‘‘Phase I’’ means, with 
respect to CSAPR, the initial compliance period 
under CSAPR, identified for the 2015 and 2016 an-
nual compliance periods. 
(b) APPLICATION
OF CSAPR TO CERTAIN COAL 
REFUSE
ELECTRIC
UTILITY
STEAM
GENERATING 
UNITS.— 
(1) COAL
REFUSE
ELECTRIC
UTILITY
STEAM 
GENERATING UNITS COMBUSTING BITUMINOUS COAL 
REFUSE.— 
(A) APPLICABILITY.—This paragraph ap-
plies with respect to any coal refuse electric 
utility steam generating unit that— 
(i) combusts coal refuse derived from 
the mining and processing of bituminous 
coal; and 
(ii) is subject to sulfur dioxide allow-
ance surrender provisions pursuant to 
CSAPR. 
(B) CONTINUED APPLICABILITY OF PHASE 
I ALLOWANCE ALLOCATIONS.—In carrying out 
CSAPR, the Administrator shall provide that, 
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for any compliance period, the allocation 
(whether through a Federal implementation 
plan or State implementation plan) of sulfur di-
oxide allowances for a coal refuse electric utility 
steam generating unit described in subpara-
graph (A) is equivalent to the allocation of the 
unit-specific sulfur dioxide allowance allocation 
identified for such unit for Phase I, as ref-
erenced in the notice entitled ‘‘Availability of 
Data on Allocations of Cross-State Air Pollu-
tion Rule Allowances to Existing Electricity 
Generating Units’’ (79 Fed. Reg. 71674 (De-
cember 3, 2014)). 
(C) RULES
FOR
ALLOWANCE
ALLOCA-
TIONS.—For any compliance period under 
CSAPR that commences on or after January 1, 
2017, any sulfur dioxide allowance allocation 
provided by the Administrator to a coal refuse 
electric utility steam generating unit described 
in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) shall not be transferable for use by 
any other source not located at the same 
coal refuse-fired facility as the relevant 
coal refuse electric utility steam generating 
unit; 
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(ii) may be transferable for use by an-
other source located at the same coal 
refuse-fired facility as the relevant coal 
refuse electric utility steam generating 
unit; 
(iii) may be banked for application to 
compliance obligations in future compli-
ance periods under CSAPR; and 
(iv) shall be surrendered upon the 
permanent cessation of operation of such 
coal refuse electric utility steam generating 
unit. 
(2) OTHER SOURCES.— 
(A) NO
INCREASE
IN
OVERALL
STATE 
BUDGET OF SULFUR DIOXIDE ALLOWANCE AL-
LOCATIONS.—For purposes of paragraph (1), 
the Administrator may not, for any compliance 
period under CSAPR, increase the total budget 
of sulfur dioxide allowance allocations for a 
State in which a unit described in paragraph 
(1)(A) is located. 
(B) COMPLIANCE PERIODS 2017 THROUGH 
2020.—For 
any 
compliance 
period 
under 
CSAPR that commences on or after January 1, 
2017, but before December 31, 2020, the Ad-
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ministrator shall carry out subparagraph (A) by 
proportionally reducing, as necessary, the unit- 
specific sulfur dioxide allowance allocations 
from each source that— 
(i) is located in a State in which a 
unit described in paragraph (1)(A) is lo-
cated; 
(ii) permanently ceases operation, or 
converts its primary fuel source from coal 
to natural gas, prior to the relevant com-
pliance period; and 
(iii) otherwise receives an allocation of 
sulfur dioxide allowances under CSAPR for 
such period. 
(c) EMISSION LIMITATIONS TO ADDRESS HYDROGEN 
CHLORIDE AND SULFUR DIOXIDE AS HAZARDOUS AIR 
POLLUTANTS.— 
(1) APPLICABILITY.—For purposes of regu-
lating emissions of hydrogen chloride or sulfur diox-
ide from a coal refuse electric utility steam gener-
ating unit under section 112 of the Clean Air Act 
(42 U.S.C. 7412), the Administrator— 
(A) shall authorize the operator of such 
unit to elect that such unit comply with ei-
ther— 
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