New standards will slash carbon, coal ash, mercury, contaminated wastewater and other toxic pollution from power plants
For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has moved to directly limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants as part of sweeping new pollution standards announced today by the Biden Administration. The standards drastically reduce a host of dangerous air pollutants emitted by power plants, including mercury, arsenic, lead, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and fine particulate matter. They also strengthen wastewater pollution limits to reduce power plant discharges of toxic metals and other contaminants into lakes, rivers, and streams and reduce coal ash contamination.
“These badly-needed rules are about protecting the health of families and communities, and we will absolutely see an impact here in Wisconsin,” says Clean Wisconsin President and CEO Mark Redsten. “For the first time, the EPA is cutting greenhouse gas pollution at power plants while slashing emissions of toxic chemicals that have been polluting our air and seeping into Wisconsin waterways for decades. Our communities have been shouldering the health and financial burdens that come with this pollution for too long. This critical action from the Biden Administration will help safeguard our climate, protect our health, and clean up our air and water.”
Wisconsin Impacts
A recent Clean Wisconsin analysis of the greenhouse gas standards looks at CO2 and air pollution levels in Wisconsin in the years leading up to 2032—the EPA’s deadline for coal-fired power plants to meet strict emission requirements. Clean Wisconsin found that in 2030, just prior to the deadline, reduced emissions from Wisconsin power plants would bring nearly $50 million in healthcare-related benefits from avoided premature death, respiratory illness, and cardiovascular disease. Wisconsin’s greenhouse gas emissions would also be slashed by 2.8 million metric tons.
The state’s power utilities have announced retirement dates for most of Wisconsin’s coal plants, but those dates are not binding. Under the new EPA rules, coal plants that fail to cut CO2 emissions by 90 percent will be forced to close by 2040. Drastically cutting emissions or closing coal plants will bring major benefits to air quality, especially in the Milwaukee area due to the proximity of We Energies’ coal-burning Elm Road Generating Station (which does not have a retirement date) and Oak Creek power plants.
A 2022 analysis from Clean Wisconsin shows Wisconsin has the 3rd largest racial disparity in the nation for exposure to dangerous air pollution particles, and power plants contribute to that disparity. Communities of color in Wisconsin are exposed to 8% more particulate matter pollution from fossil fuel-generated power plants than the state average.
New and Existing Gas Plants
The pollution standards apply to new gas plants, which means a major plant planned for Superior, Wis., will be largely obsolete before construction even begins. As currently designed, the Nemadji Trail Energy Center, does not meet the new emissions standards. The joint project from Dairyland Power and Minnesota Power is currently slated to begin operation in 2028 and would need to meet requirements by 2032 to avoid being forced to shut down.
Existing gas plants are exempted from the new standards, and Clean Wisconsin Energy Manager Ciaran Gallagher says more work must be done to address health and climate impacts from the Wisconsin gas plants that are currently operating.
“Regulating existing gas power plants would improve public health locally and immediately,” says Gallagher. “These plants are burning methane, which emits pollutants that are actively harming nearby communities. Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas which escapes, or leaks, during extraction and transportation to a power plant – reducing or eliminating any perceived ‘climate benefits’ of gas. We urge the EPA to take strong action to address this harmful pollution.”
Coal Ash Storage
The new rules announced today will protect communities by requiring the cleanup of sites that have either legacy coal ash ponds or old, unregulated landfills. Clean Wisconsin Science Program Director Paul Mathewson says the requirements are needed Wisconsin.
“The inactive disposal sites covered by this new rule were inexplicably exempted from the original 2015 coal ash regulation despite being more likely to be unlined and more likely to leak toxic pollution into nearby waterways than active disposal sites. Indeed, monitoring shows that these inactive coal ash dumps have been contaminating groundwater around the state with toxic metals like arsenic, boron and selenium. Closing this loophole will mean that utilities will now need to prevent any further pollution from these sites. We thank the tireless effort of advocates like Earthjustice for this victory for the environment and public health in Wisconsin,” says Mathewson.
Broader Impacts
According to the EPA, climate and health benefits of stronger carbon pollution standards substantially outweigh the cost for power companies to implement them. In 2035 alone, the regulatory impact analysis estimates substantial health benefits including:
- Up to 1,200 avoided premature deaths
- 870 avoided hospital and emergency room visits
- 1,900 avoided cases of asthma onset
- 360,000 avoided cases of asthma symptoms
- 48,000 avoided school absence days
- 57,000 lost workdays
The suite of final rules includes:
- A final rule for existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants that would ensure that all coal-fired plants that plan to run in the long-term and all new baseload gas-fired plants control 90 percent of their carbon pollution.
- A final rule strengthening and updating the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67 percent and finalizing a 70 percent reduction in the emissions standard for mercury from existing lignite-fired sources.
- A final rule to reduce pollutants discharged through wastewater from coal-fired power plants by more than 660 million pounds per year, ensuring cleaner water for affected communities, including communities with environmental justice concerns that are disproportionately impacted.
- A final rule that will require the safe management of coal ash that is placed in areas that were unregulated at the federal level until now, including at previously used disposal areas that may leak and contaminate groundwater.
