Source: https://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coal_regulations
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 12:47:23+00:00

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The main U.S. statute controlling coal mining is the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). Under the law, each state must establish a federally approved enforcement program. SMCRA is administered by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in the Department of Interior. Other federal laws affecting coal mining with a major impact on mining are the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Coal dust is a fine powdered form of coal, which is created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizing of coal. Chronic exposure to the coal dust stirred up during mining can lead to black lung disease, or pneumoconiosis. It is a common affliction of coal miners and others who work with coal, similar to both silicosis (from inhaling silica dust) and to the long-term effects of tobacco smoking. Inhaled coal dust progressively builds up in the lungs and is unable to be removed by the body; that leads to inflammation, fibrosis, and in the worst case, necrosis, or the premature death of cells and living tissue.
Federal U.S. regulations of coal dust did not exist until In the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, in which the U.S. Congress set up standards to reduce dust and the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund (BLDTF), which pays health benefits to coal miners afflicted with black lung. A miner who spent 25 years in underground coal mines has a 5-10% risk of contracting the disease.
BLDTF was instituted in 1978, and is funded through an excise tax on coal to support a trust fund covering health costs of affected workers. However the tax is not sufficient to cover all costs, and the BLDTF was given “indefinite authority to borrow” from the U.S. General Fund. By the end of FY 2008, the BLDTF had accrued nearly $13 billion in debt. In 2008, Congress partially “bailed out” the BLDTF.
Coal dust is highly explosive and both accelerates and spreads smaller ignitions underground. It has been linked to several coal mining explosions, including April 2010's deadly Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster in West Virginia.
Coal mine reclamation is the rehabilitation of land after coal mining operations have stopped. It is a requirement of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977.
Several studies have shown that despite the requirements of SMCRA, most mined land is not fully reclaimed. According to a 2007 review of reclamation in five western states published by the Western Organization of Resource Councils and the Natural Resources Defense Council, out of over 400,000 acres affected by coal mining in the 10-year period 1996-2005, only 22,906 acres (5.7%) were released from Phase III bonds (lands revegetated, with pre-miing productivity reestablished and pre-mining surface and groundwater restored).
The Clean Air Act is a federal law enacted by the United States Congress to control air pollution on a national level. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to airborne contaminants that are known to be hazardous to human health. The Clean Air Act was passed in 1963, and is listed under 42 U.S.C. § 7401. Major additions and changes were embodied in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1966, the Clean Air Act (1970), the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977, and the Clean Air Act (1990). In the landmark Massachusetts v. EPA case, the U.S. Supreme Court extended the law to included global warming pollution. Congress established the New Source Review (NSR) permitting program as part of the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments. The NSR process requires industry to undergo an EPA pre-construction review for environmental controls if they proposed either building new facilities or any modifications to existing facilities that would create a “significant increase” of a regulated pollutant. The legislation allowed “routine scheduled maintenance” to not be covered in the NSR process.
The Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) refers to EPA regulations on ground-level ozone, a primary ingredient in smog linked to respiratory illnesses. The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set NAAQS for ground-level ozone and five other criteria pollutants, and to review the latest scientific information and standards every five years: "Before new standards are established, policy decisions undergo rigorous review by the scientific community, industry, public interest groups, the general public and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC)."
In January 2010, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said tightening the nation's air-quality standard for ozone was "long overdue," and would save an estimated 12,000 lives a year and yield health benefits up to $100 billion annually in 2020.  The EPA is proposing to strengthen the 8-hour ozone standard to a level within the range of 0.060-0.070 parts per million (ppm), up from 0.075 ppm created in 2008, as "the ozone standards set in 2008 were not as protective as recommended by EPA’s panel of science advisors, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. The proposed  standards are consistent with CASAC’s recommendations."
On September 2, 2011, the White House announced that it was overruling the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to adopt a stricter standard for ground-level ozone until a scheduled reconsideration of acceptable pollution limits in 2013.
In November 2009, the EPA proposed new NAAQS limits on sulfur dioxide, the first time since 1971 that the agency recommended tightening controls on SO2 to protect public health. The old limits measured sulfur dioxide averages over 24-hour and one-year periods. The new rule would require one-hour measurements, such that a spike of emissions above a new limit — between 50 and 100 parts per billion in one hour — would no longer be acceptable. The EPA estimates that if the rule is enacted with the strongest limits the agency is recommending, the benefits by 2020 would include 4,700 to 12,000 fewer premature deaths per year and 3.6 million fewer cases of worsened asthma. The agency also calculated that the health benefits of the new regulations would greatly outweigh the $1.8 billion to $6.8 billion costs of the new rules. A public hearing is scheduled in Atlanta in January 2010, with the new rules scheduled to become final by June 2010.
On March 15, 2005, the EPA issued the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) to permanently cap and reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants for the first time ever. On February 8, 2008, the DC Circuit struck down CAMR in New Jersey v. EPA, No. 05-1097 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 8, 2008), as the Act removed oil and coal-fired electric utility steam generating units (EGUs) from the list of sources of hazardous air pollutants and instead regulated the emissions through a cap-and-trade program. New Jersey, and several other states, municipal governments, and environmental groups, challenged CAMR claiming that EPA had no authority to delist the EGUs without providing a “specific finding” under section 112(c)(9) of the Clean Air Act. The DC Circuit agreed with the Petitioners, vacating both the delisting rule and CAMR.
After the ruling, the EPA began developing air toxics emissions standards for power plants under the Clean Air Act (Section 112), consistent with the D.C. Circuit’s opinion regarding CAMR. EPA intends to propose air toxics standards for coal- and oil-fired electric generating units by March 10, 2011 and finalize a rule by November 16, 2011.
In a motion filed on December 7, 2010, the EPA asked for an extension in the current court-ordered schedule for issuing rules that would reduce harmful air emissions from large and small boilers and solid waste incinerators, which would cut emissions of pollutants, including mercury and soot. EPA is under a current court order to issue final rules on January 16, 2011 and is seeking in its motion to the court to extend the schedule to finalize the rules by April 2012. The agency said the additional time is needed "to re-propose the rules based on a full assessment of information received since the rules were proposed."
Acting under federal court order, the Obama administration proposed new air-quality rules on July 6, 2010, for coal-burning power plants. The pollutants being singled out in the new rule making — sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides — react in the atmosphere to form fine particulates and ground-level ozone (smog). They are easily carried by the wind and affect states and cities far downwind from the plants where they are produced. The proposed regulation, called the Transport Rule, would apply to power plants in 31 states east of the Rockies, with the exception of the Dakotas, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The proposed rules will replace the EPA's 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). CAIR, passed under George W. Bush, would have allowed emissions sources in different states to trade with each other, but a D.C. Circuit Court (in North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896) found the provision was not harmonious with the Clean Air Act, as the EPA should know the outcome of its rules in advance, at least at the state level. The transport rule responded to the ruling by largely eliminating interstate trading, although intra-state trading is still allowed.
For more information on greenhouse gas regulations, see also EPA greenhouse gas issues.
The EPA has also been developing a permitting program for new (or substantially upgraded) sources. In May 2010, the EPA issued its "Tailoring Rule," determining which sources will need to get permits (very large sources). In November 2010, it issued "PSD and Title V Permitting Guidance for Greenhouse Gases," which detailed that the permitting program would be run much like existing permitting programs: through the states. The regulations will be applied to plants that were "grandfathered" (exempted) under the original Clean Air Act.
On March 27, 2012, the EPA released its new rule limiting CO2 emissions from future electricity generating plants in the U.S. The EPA is proposing that new plants emit no more than about 454 kilograms of CO2 per megawatt‐hour, and would go into effect in 2013. It would have the biggest impact on coal-fired plants, but would not apply to existing plants or those already under construction. The EPA did leave the door open for companies that want to build new coal plants by allowing utilities to phase-in CO2 controls like carbon capture and storage over decades, as long as the plant's 30-year average of emissions met the new standard.
Science reported that the cap is unlikely to have much impact on current U.S. energy-industry practices, as utilities are favoring new power plants fueled by natural gas: "Nearly all gas-fired power plants built in the U.S. since 2005 would already meet the standard, according to EPA, as would typical gas plants on the drawing boards. So, in practice, analysts say the new standard will probably result in few—if any—immediate changes in how utilities build or operate new power plants." EPA is expected to finalize the rule later in 2012, after a public comment period.
The National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) are emissions standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for air pollutants not covered by National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in the Clean Air Act that may cause an increase in fatalities or in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness, such as heavy metals. The standards for a particular source category require the maximum degree of emission reduction that the EPA determines to be achievable, which is known as the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) . These standards are authorized by Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (1970) and the regulations are published in 40 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 61 and 63.
Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires the EPA to ensure that the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling towers reflect the best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impacts, including thermal pollution from coal plants. The EPA has been in the process of developing a rule that will define how States will establish standards for cooling water intake structures at large power plants, and is expected to be published in the Federal Register in September 2010. The rule will apply to large existing power plants that withdraw 50 million gallons per day or more and that use at least 25 percent of their withdrawn water for cooling purposes only: an estimated 422 fossil-fueled and 38 nuclear power plants representing over 308 and 52 GW of existing capacity, respectively. The rule has been repeatedly challenged by industry lawsuits, prompting states like CA to move forward with their own regulations.
In July 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted EPA's request to take back part of a rule on cooling water intake structures relating to existing facilities so it can consider what might be appropriate requirements (ConocoPhillips v. EPA, 5th Cir., No. 06-60662, 7/23/10). Industries are particularly concerned about the requirements because of the high costs associated with retrofitting cooling towers. According to a 2010 report, "Special Reliability Scenario Assessment: Resource Adequacy Impacts of Potential U.S. Environmental Regulations" by the North American Electric Reliability Corp., an estimated 33 gigawatts to 36 gigawatts of generating capacity could be forced to be retired, depending on how stringent the cooling tower rule might be. A 2010 study by The Brattle Group, "Potential Coal Plant Retirements Under Emerging Environmental Regulations" found that 11,000 to 12,000 MW of coal power could retire if cooling towers are mandated. According to the report, if scrubbers and cooling towers are required, it could shut down every merchant coal plant (plants that sell power into competitive wholesale markets) in the Texas ERCOT region.
On December 3, 2010, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Michigan), incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson that coal plant retrofits needed to meet the forthcoming cooling rules being prepared by EPA under the Clean Water Act would cost $200 million to $300 million per plant. On December 16, 2010, Jackson responded that the new rules will accommodate site-specific circumstances.
On March 4, 2009, Representative Frank Pallone introduced H.R.1310, also known as the Clean Water Protection Act. The bill would amend the CWA, "to clarify that fill material" -- which "replaces portions of the waters of the United States with dry land or which changes the bottom elevation of a water body" -- "cannot be comprised of waste."  According to a statement from Rep. Pallone's office, the bill "restores the prohibition on using waste as 'fill' that had been included in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' regulations since 1977." The bill would restrict the practice of mountaintop removal mining.
In early May 2002, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers finalized changes to the definition of “fill material” that the corps can legally authorize to be dumped into streams, redefining mountaintop removal waste as “fill material” that the corps can permit to be dumped. The change came after federal Judge Charles H. Haden II of the Southern District of West Virginia's May 2 ruling that EPA and the corps don’t have authority to redefine mining waste as fill, thus undoing Haden's ruling.
At the beginning of April 2010, the EPA's Lisa Jackson laid out new mountaintop removal guidelines, which may put the breaks on the practice in Appalachia and elsewhere, where valleys are filled with mining debris. Jackson stated that valley fills likely violate Clean Water Act requirements in most cases.
In late June 2010, however, the U.S. EPA gave the Army Corps of Engineers a green light for the Pine Creek Mine permit, a mountaintop removal mining site located in Logan County, W.Va. The permit was the first decision the EPA issued under its new mountaintop mining guidelines. Environmentalists argued that the new MTR guidelines were understood to provide greater protection for headwater streams by curbing the practice of dumping waste in neighboring valleys to create what is known as valley fills.
On May 4, 2010 the U.S. EPA announced two competing proposals to regulate Coal Combustion Residuals produced by coal-fired power plants. Both options fall under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under the first proposal, EPA would list coal ash and coal waste residuals as "special wastes," or hazardous wastes, subject to regulation under subtitle C of RCRA, when destined for disposal in landfills or surface impoundments. Treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) manage hazardous wastes under RCRA Subtitle C, and generally must have a permit in order to operate, with land disposal restrictions. Under the second proposal, EPA would regulate coal ash under subtitle D of RCRA, the section for non-hazardous wastes. Under section D, no permit is required, monitoring is done by citizens, not the federal government, and there are no restrictions on land disposal of the waste. Click here for more on the key differences between the proposed rules.
The proposal means the EPA will not necessarily declare coal ash a hazardous waste as desired by environmental groups, and the waste material could continue to be reused in various ways, EPA officials said. The final decision on which proposal the EPA and choose is to happen in July 2010, but has been delayed.
The drinking-water regulation governs the way carbon dioxide injection wells are located, built, tested, monitored and closed. A task force of 14 U.S. agencies said in August 2010 that carbon capture technology is currently too expensive to be used without financial and regulatory support from the federal government. According to the task force: Rules governing the “environmental soundness of injecting and storing carbon dioxide underground” must be part of a federal plan to “facilitate widespread cost-effective deployment” of the pollution-control technology after 2020. A separate EPA rule also released that day dealt with measuring the amount of carbon dioxide that’s captured and stored, designed to deal with future regulations of greenhouse gases.
In July 2011, the Center for Media Democracy posted leaked "model bills" pushed by American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) corporations to try and prevent or water down environmental protections, including efforts to prevent EPA regulation of greenhouse gases and coal waste, support for the Clear Skies Initiative that was weaker than the EPA's proposed regulations on air pollutants, and the replacement of EPA regulations of particulate matter with looser state or Congressional standards.
According to 2011 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, few layoffs are caused directly by government regulations—in 2010, 0.3% of people who lost their jobs in layoffs were let go because of government regulations, compared to 25% who were cut because of a drop in demand. And the process of meeting regulations can create employment too, as workers are needed to retrofit plants and install new equipment. Citing different economists, Lynn Yang of the Washington Post concluded that "the overall impact [of regulations] on employment is minimal."
↑ "Google timeline of coal dust explosions" google, accessed Sep., 2010.
↑ "NSR" EPA, accessed July 2010.
↑ "Ozone Air Quality Standards" EPA, accessed December 2010.
↑ 19.0 19.1 Stephen Power, "EPA Again Delays Tighter Ozone Restrictions" The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 9, 2010.
↑ "EPA Fact Sheet on proposed rule" (pdf) EPA, accessed December 2010.
↑ John Broder, "Obama abandons tougher ozone standard" Boston.com, Sep. 3, 2011.
↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 "Clean Air Mercury Rule" EPA, accessed July 2010.
↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 "Fact Sheet: Proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards" EPA, accessed March 2011.
↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 John Broder, "New Rules Issued on Coal Air Pollution" New York Times, July 6, 2010.
↑ 40.0 40.1 "Putting EPA’s announcement on CO2 from power plants in context" Grist, Dec. 23, 2010.
↑ 41.0 41.1 David Malakoff, "Imposing a Cap With Holes," Science, March 27, 2012.
↑ "Summary of the Clean Water Act," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website, accessed April 2009.
↑ 44.0 44.1 "Criteria and Standards for Cooling Water Intake Structures" EPA Website, accessed July 2010.
↑ "SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: ENTERGY CORP. v. RIVERKEEPER, INC., ET AL. - CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT," No. 07–588. Argued December 2, 2008; Decided April 1, 2009.
↑ 47.0 47.1 Jennifer Koons, "Groups debate Supreme Court's power plant ruling," New York Times, April 2, 2009.
↑ Tony Mauro, "Supreme Court Strengthens Arbitration in Labor Case Ruling," Legal Times, April 2, 2009.
↑ Robert Barnes, "EPA Can Weigh Cost-Benefits in Environmental Action, Court Says," Washington Post, April 2, 2009.
↑ Andrew Childers, "Electric Companies Said to Need Time to Implement Environmental Rules" Air and Waste Management Association, 2010.
↑ "H.R.1310," Library of Congress Thomas website, accessed April 2009.
↑ Press release, "Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Prohibit Dumping Industrial Waste into Rivers and Streams," Rep. Frank Pallone's office, March 4, 2009.
↑ Ken Ward Jr., "Democrats blast Bush mine policy" Charleston Gazette, June 7, 2002.
↑ 60.0 60.1 Simon Lomax, "Carbon-Storage Rules for U.S. Coal Plants Issued to Shield Drinking Water" Bloomberg, Nov. 22, 2010.
↑ "Rewriting the Rules about the Environment, Energy, and Agriculture" Center for Media and Democracy, accessed July 2011.
↑ Bryan Walsh, "On Coal, Jobs and Regulations" Time, Nov. 14, 2011.
This page was last edited on 4 October 2017, at 17:30.

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