Frontlines

The Brink of Ruin?

 

 

Utilities face huge costs of complying with new EPA standards.

How far will utilities be expected to go in complying with new proposed EPA standards, now before Congress, that seek greater reduction targets for emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxide (NO_x), mercury (Hg), and carbon dioxide (CO₂), in what is to be an unprecedented multi-pollutant reduction bill?

According to a July Supreme Court ruling affirming the EPA's authority in the Clean Air Act, Justice Breyer interpreted that the EPA has the discretion of stopping short of "hurtling" industry over the "the brink of ruin" or even "deindustrialization" when considering economic costs of environmental compliance. I'm sure that's reassuring to those utility executives reading. The EPA can pursue almost any perceived health risk, at any cost, just short of bankrupting the industry.