Rules Proposed for Cutting Power Plant Emissions

Contact: Tom Mather (919) 715-7408
Date: December 2, 1999
Rules Proposed for Cutting Power Plant Emissions

RALEIGH - State environmental officials today proposed new rules for reducing ozone-forming air pollution from power plants, as called for under Governor Jim Hunt's Clean Air Plan to protect public health, the environment and the economy.

Gov. Hunt proposed his plan last December to help North Carolina meet the stricter new state and federal standard for ozone, the primary component of smog. In July, the General Assembly enacted a major portion of the plan by passing legislation for reducing emissions from motor vehicles. The state Environmental Management Commission (EMC) must approve the next step, which calls for substantial reductions in power plant emissions.

Today the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) proposed rules for the EMC to consider in reducing power plant emissions. DENR Secretary Bill Holman and his staff will present the proposal to the EMC Air Quality Committee at its December 8 meeting. The full commission would hold public hearings before adopting the rules, with final approval expected next fall.

"Power plants emit about half of our ozone-forming pollution," Holman said. "We must take steps to reduce these emissions, for the sake of public health as well as the environment. These reductions, when combined with tougher controls on exhaust from cars and trucks, should help us resolve North Carolina's ozone problem. We also will benefit from provisions in the federal Clean Air Act that take effect next year -- which will help reduce ozone, acid rain and haze."

The proposed rules would provide utilities with two options for reducing their emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a key cause of ozone. One option would seek a two-thirds reduction in NOx emissions from North Carolina's five largest power plants, as the Governor initially proposed when announcing his Clean Air Plan. The other option would seek an equivalent reduction in NOx emissions from all power plants, while allowing utilities more flexibility in where to achieve the cuts.

Monitoring by the state Division of Air Quality (DAQ) shows that ozone levels exceed the new standard across much of North Carolina. This year, ozone levels exceeded the standard on 68 days at least somewhere in the state. Ozone is a highly reactive form of oxygen that is unhealthy to breathe and can damage trees and crops. It is formed when nitrogen oxides react with hydrocarbons in the air during hot, sunny weather. Motor vehicles and power plants are the major sources of ozone-forming pollution in North Carolina.

Gov. Hunt proposed his Clean Air Plan in response to an EPA mandate that would require cutbacks in NOx emissions at power plants and factories statewide but would ignore motor vehicles. State environmental officials believe the Governor's plan would control ozone more effectively because it would include motor vehicles, which account for about half of the state's NOx emissions, and it would target the larger utilities, which account for most of the state's stationary-source emissions. Gov. Hunt's Transit 2001 plan also will reduce emissions from cars and trucks by providing funding for rail and mass transit.

The General Assembly enacted the mobile-source phase of the Governor's plan in July by passing legislation that requires the use of low-sulfur gasoline statewide by January 2004 and expands the motor-vehicle emissions testing program from nine counties to 48 counties by July 2006. The bill also sets goals for reduced driving and increased use of alternative-fuel vehicles.

In addition to the stricter controls on motor vehicles and power plants, North Carolina should benefit from the federal Clean Air Act's Title IV provisions, which require utilities to reduce their NOx emissions by about 40 percent in the year 2000, in addition to on-going cutbacks in sulfur oxide emissions. Although Title IV was aimed at reducing acid rain, the emissions cutbacks also should reduce ozone levels and improve visibility - a major issue in the mountains of North Carolina.

The Governor's Clean Air Plan should reduce total NOx emissions by more than 40 percent when fully implemented by the year 2007. These NOx reductions include 20 percent from the Title IV provisions of the Clean Air Act, 8 percent from the emissions controls on motor vehicles, and about 15 percent from the power plant reductions. In order to meet the new ozone standard, DENR is likely to propose additional controls on power plants and other industries within the next few years.

The DAQ also has expanded its Air Awareness Program, which helps curb ozone levels by increasing public awareness about air pollution and things people can do to help prevent it. More information about ozone, the Air Awareness Program and other air quality issues can be found at the DAQ's web site, http://daq.state.nc.us/.

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