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EPA

Obligations and Opportunities: Wires Cos. Plug In to Clean Power Plan

When the the Clean Power Plan is reviewed on the merits in Fall 2017, Justice Scalia will have been replaced, and the newest justice may hold the key to the fate of the plan.
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"Utilities should use this time to formulate informed positions on the implementation issues that most affect their business." – Brendan Collins
Author Bio: 

Brendan K. Collins is a partner with Ballard Spahr LLP with extensive experience in the electric power sector. He is a member of Ballard’s environmental, energy and appellate litigation practice groups. Brendan has served as lead counsel for a group of energy companies in litigation before the D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court concerning the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.

Vol. 1: “If It’s Stayed, Why Should I Go?”

High Court Takes Heat Out of Mercury Rule

Majority said EPA didn’t adequately consider costs of proposal.
On Monday, the Supreme Court released its 5-4 decision, which said EPA must take into account the cost of its regulations at the initial stage – the one where it determines that regulation of hazardous emissions from electric power plants would be “appropriate and necessary.”

EPA Blesses Fracking

Drinking Water deemed safe – for now that is.
Natural gas producers today have the wind at their backs, with production rising as America turns to cleaner energy. But any misstep could set the industry back, which is why it needs to work closely with the White House and the environmentalists, both of which have real concerns.

State Utility Commissioners at Ground Zero

At issue in this new environmental paradigm is whether the states will take the lead, or the federal government. And nowhere is that more relevant than the EPA's Clean Power Plan.

Multi-pollutant Emissions Control

Conflicting demands for complying with EPA’s MATS rule favor a single control technology to deal with multiple types of power plant emissions.

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Technology Corridor
Author Bio: 

Kevin Crapsey is vice president of corporate strategy and development at Eco Power Solutions.

MATS compliance now, with flexibility for the future.

Maximum Burden

Although EPA claims its tough new clean air regulations will improve public health, in fact they’ll measurably degrade the health of Florida seniors.

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Figure 1 - Florida Residents 65 years or Older
Figure 2 - Utility MACT and Florida Elders
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Op Ed
Author Bio: 

Roger H. Bezdek (rbezdek@misi-net.com) is president of Management Information Services Inc. He’s authored several articles for Fortnightly since 1996, most recently “Energy Subsidy Myths and Realities,” June 2012.

The electricity price increases from the proposed EPA Utility MACT will act as a regressive tax on the elderly.

Least-Risk Planning

The D.C. Circuit’s CSAPR ruling reinforces the benefits of planning ahead and keeping options open. A diverse portfolio strategy reduces risks and costs.

Author Bio: 

Ken Colburn (kcolburn@raponline.org) and David Farnsworth are senior associates at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). John Shenot is an associate, Camille Kadoch is a research and policy analyst, Elizabeth Watson is energy and environment fellow, and Rebecca Wigg is a communications associate at RAP.

The Homer City decision increases uncertainty—but rewards forward thinking.

Federal Feud

When Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an attack on the federal Springfield Armory in January 1787—the spark that ignited the federalist movement—he scarcely could’ve guessed that now, 225 years later, his spiritual descendants would still be fighting that very same battle.

Author Bio: 

Bruce W. Radford (radford@pur.com) is Fortnightly’s publisher, and Michael T. Burr (burr@pur.com) is the editor-in-chief.

The jurisdictional battle rages on, with FERC and EPA squaring off against the states.

Cleanup Time

Ongoing litigation over EPA rules raises compliance risks and costs. North Carolina utilities, however, benefited from the state’s forward thinking.

Category: 
Op Ed
Author Bio: 

David Hoppock (david.hoppock@duke.edu) is a research analyst and Sarah Adair (sarah.adair@duke.edu) is an associate in research at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions in Durham, N.C.

Retrofitting early protected North Carolina ratepayers.

Fortnightly's Top 10

The year’s most important legal and regulatory rulings.
It’s a war out there — or rather, several of them. Fortnightly reports from the front lines of the conflict over U.S. energy and environmental policy.

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