Emails Show EPA Ignored Request for More Realistic Cost Ranges for Coal Regulations

Environmental Protection Agency officials ignored requests from the Office of Management and Budget to include a more realistic cost range for implementing stringent coal regulations for new coal plants, according to emails released by regulations.gov.

Prior to the EPA releasing its New Source Performance Standards, which would severely limit the building of new coal-fired power plants due to a requirement for those plants to include carbon capture and storage technology, the OMB raised multiple questions regarding the implementation of the regulations, including cost and feasibility of the technology.

“EPA’s assertion of the technical feasibility of carbon capture relies heavily on literature reviews, pilot projects, and commercial facilities yet to operate,” the OMB wrote. “We believe this cannot form the basis of a finding that CCS on commercial scale power plants is ‘adequately demonstrated’.”

The OMB also suggested the EPA include the full range of costs for implementing the technology instead of the low range, as the draft rule included.

“The commenter believes that it would be appropriate for the proposed rule to consider the full range of cost estimates developed by [the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory], recognizing the level of uncertainty in these estimates,” the OMB wrote.

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