American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2015 - 160

2000 through 2012, according to a study
by T2 and Associates," the coalition reports. "We all have a common goal of
ensuring Colorado implements a plan
that delivers electricity reliably, affordably,
and in a way that meets environmental
goals. Natural gas meets all of these priorities."

Carbon Pollution Standards
In his June 25, 2013, presidential
memorandum ordering EPA to establish
carbon emission standards for electric
generating facilities, Obama also ordered
the agency to set standards for modified,
reconstructed and existing power plants.
The order directed EPA to require states
to submit the required implementation
plans by June 30, 2016.
Under that directive, the agency es-

tablished separate standards for fossil
fuel-fired generation sources:
* Stationary combustion turbines that
typically are natural gas-fired units; and
* Electric utility steam-generating
units, generally using coal.
According to the agency, its standards
reflect the degree of emission limitation
available by using the best system of
emission reduction (BSER) that EPA determines to be adequately demonstrated
for each type of unit. It says because the
standards are in line with industry investment patterns, they are not expected
to have notable costs, and are not projected
to impact electricity prices or reliability.
The BSER for new and reconstructed
stationary combustion turbines is natural
gas combined cycle technology, EPA
states. Its final emission limit for base-

load combustion turbines is the same for
new and reconstructed units, at 1,000
pounds of CO 2 per megawatt-hour
(CO2/mwh-gross) on a gross-output basis.
For coal-fired steam generating units,
the agency says the final standards vary
on whether the facility is new, modified
or reconstructed. The emission limit for
new steam units is 1,400 pounds
CO2/mwh-gross. For modified coal-fired
power plants, EPA says the BSER is
based on each affected unit's own best
potential performance. Sources with heat
input greater than 2,000 MMBtu an hour
are required to meet an emission limit of
1,800 pounds CO2/mwh-gross, while
sources below that threshold have a limit
of 2,000 pounds CO2/mwh-gross, the
agency says.
❒

States Attack Obama Clean Power Plan
WASHINGTON-The Obama administration's Clean Power Plan has drawn
a legal challenge from affected states.
Thirteen attorneys general denounced
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
on Aug. 3 over the plan, which requires
states to reduce carbon emissions 32 percent by 2030 by cutting fossil-fuel-based
energy generation. According to West
Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the rule blatantly disregards the
rule of law, and will severely harm the
economies of West Virginia and the
United States.
Joining West Virginia in the suit filed
in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia are Alabama, Indiana,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska,
Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South
Dakota and Wyoming.
"This rule represents the most farreaching energy regulation in the nation's
history, drawn up by radical bureaucrats
and based on an obscure, rarely used
provision of the Clean Air Act. We intend
to challenge it in court vigorously," Morrisey says.
This follows a petition filed by 14
states in the D.C. Circuit on July 24 to
rehear a lawsuit challenging the Clean
Power Plan. The court had ruled the lawsuit was premature because the plan had
not been made final and federal laws
only allowed challenges against final regulations (AOGR, July 2015, pg. 15). The
states are asking for a hearing in front of
all 17 judges in the D.C. Circuit, rather
than the three-judge panel that heard the
initial lawsuit.
According to Morrisey, he and his
counterparts have argued for more than

a year that the Clean Power Plan is illegal
because it is not limited to merely requiring
power plants to install pollution technologies, which is all the Clean Air Act
permits. Rather, they assert, the vast majority of the rule's emission reductions
come from requiring the states to fundamentally alter their energy economies to
use less coal-fired energy.
"This final rule adopts a radical, unprecedented regime, transforming EPA
from an environmental regulator into a
central planning authority for electricity
generation," Morrisey says. "With this
final rule, the administration is doubling

down on a proposal that would force
states to fundamentally reorder their energy
economies, which will lead to fewer jobs,
higher electricity rates, and put stress on
the reliability of the power grid."
Morrisey says the rule also is illegal
because it seeks to require the states to
regulate coal-fired power plants under
Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act,
even though EPA already regulates those
same generating facilities under the hazardous air pollutant program (Section
112) of the act. Amendments to the Clean
Air Act in 1990 expressly prohibit such
double regulation, he asserts.
❒

2015 EOGCTS

New Features Increase Value
Of 2015 Eastern Trade Show
WEXFORD, PA.-Several new features
have been designed to create an even
better value for those attending the Eastern
Oil & Gas Conference and Trade Show
this year, announces Lou D'Amico, president of the Pennsylvania Independent
Oil & Gas Association, which sponsors
the event.
The gathering is scheduled for Oct.
27-28 at the Monroeville, Pa., Convention
Center. D'Amico says industry professionals can see new technology and services firsthand at the exhibition and learn
from knowledgeable speakers at the conference.
One new trade-show feature is the
products and services showcase. "This

160 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

is a set of sessions that allows service
companies, professional firms, and suppliers to highlight their products in special
presentations," D'Amico explains. "The
showcase will be open in the amphitheater
to all visitors, not only those who are
registered for the conference portion of
our event."
A second new offering is called producers row, which D'Amico says will
be situated on the exhibit floor and
manned by representatives from producer
member companies. "This will give participants and other exhibitors a chance
to become acquainted with companies
that have turned Pennsylvania into the
nation's number two gas-producing state,"

American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2015

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