Indiana Going With Fed Minimums, But Debate Continues As Deadline Looms

As we reported last week it appears the State of Indiana has decided to adopt the Federal Standards for CAMR compliance. This pleases the folks on the industry side but has re-energized those that would like to see stricter regulations and a faster timeline. Two articles, one from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, and one from the South Bend Tribune highlights this debate.

Excerpts follow;

One of the worst offenders when it comes to mercury emissions is coal-burning power plants. Indiana gets about 95 percent of its electricity from coal and has about 23 coal-fueled power plants.

Indiana is also notorious for having some of the worst mercury-polluting power plants in the nation. In a 2005 study from the Environmental Integrity Project listing the 50 dirtiest power plants in the country, Indiana was the site of six.

The mercury-emission rule adopted last week calls for a 66 percent cut by 2018. Environmental advocates were trying to persuade the state’s pollution control board to reduce emissions 90 percent by 2010. The deeper cuts are needed because of the amount of mercury released in Indiana – more than three tons in 2005. And because the federal rule allows polluters to bank emission credits, the state more likely won’t meet the 66 percent reduction in mercury emissions until 2025, not 2018.

The full Gazette article is here.

Stan Pinegar, vice president of the Indiana Energy Association, told the board that the Environmental Protection Agency's minimum mercury rule will cost the Indiana power utilities $64 million to $68 million a year.

In contrast, he said the Hoosier Environmental Council's 90 percent proposal would cost $207 million to $373 million a year. Such a costly cut would end the low electricity rates the state enjoys from burning its plentiful coal deposits, helping to fuel Indiana's economic development, Pinegar said.

"This is how we're selling our state," said Pinegar, whose group is the trade association for Indiana's utility companies.

The full Tribune article is here.