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 In its initial version, the Clean Power Plan called for cutting
the country's power plant emissions 30 percent from 2005 levels by
2030, setting different targets for each state.
The proposal is the signature piece of President Barack Obama’s
climate change policy. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough
said this week that the final rule will be "stronger in many ways
than the proposed rule."
But the Clean Power Plan has been sharply criticized by the energy
and manufacturing industries and some energy-producing states, and
opponents have already vowed to challenge the regulation in court.
The final rule is expected to accommodate some of that opposition,
as well as take into account feedback from over 4.3 million public
comments. Among other things: The EPA is expected to push back the
rule's start date by two years to 2022, according to a slide posted
by the agency briefly on its website on Tuesday.
Here are some things to look for in the final rule:
Why will the EPA push the start date back?
 One of the biggest complaints about the draft proposal was the
timetable. Some coal-reliant states complained that moving too
quickly on building out natural gas pipelines and shutting down coal
plants could lead to electricity shortages. And the Edison Electric
Institute, a U.S. utility lobby group, said the interim goals would
make electricity more costly for consumers. Delaying the start date
and giving extra credit to states that took early action offers an
"easy concession" for the EPA, according to the Resources for the
Future think tank.
Will the EPA change how states can hit their targets?
The EPA set individual goals for each state to reduce the carbon
intensity of their power plants based on a mix of four “building
blocks”: improving efficiency of coal-fired power plants; replacing
more coal with natural gas; deploying more wind, solar and hydro
power and preserving nuclear power; and expanding consumer energy
efficiency programs.
The agency is expected to revise some of their assumptions about how
quickly states can switch out coal for natural gas, while taking
into account growing penetration of renewable energy sources.
“They will be updating information on renewables and efficiency to
incorporate data that wasn’t included the first time around," said
David Doniger, a director at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"That really ups what you can get out of those sources."
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On the other hand, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee hope to see
less stringent targets in the final rule. Those states have nuclear
plants under construction - but not yet operating. The EPA had
treated those states as if the plants were already generating power,
raising unrealistic expectations for the rate of cuts, those states
said.
Will the EPA give states clearer ground rules on interstate
emissions trading?
Many experts expect the EPA to make it easier for power plants to
trade emission permits as a way to meet their carbon-reduction
targets. Allowing states to measure emissions by total tonnage makes
it easier for plants to “trade those tons,” said Chuck Barlow, head
of regulatory affairs at Entergy, a power generator based in New
Orleans. Barlow said state air regulators already trade sulfur
permits this way. He also expects the EPA to facilitate that
emissions trading by dropping requirements for them to strike legal
agreements - some of which would require legislative approval -
between states.
Will the EPA prepare a federal plan for states that "say no" to the
Clean Power Plan?
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has been urging governors to
ignore the EPA rule, though so far only Oklahoma has said it would
not comply. The EPA is now expected to reveal a "federal
implementation plan" that states would be forced to adopt if they
miss a 2016 deadline for submitting plans on how they propose to
meet their targets.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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