On Thursday, EPA
finalized revisions to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or
MATS (also known as "Utility MACT"). The most
significant change was to revise the mercury emissions standard
from 0.0002 pounds per gigawatt-hour to 0.003 pounds per
gigawatt-hour. The change was made in response to comments
suggesting that the more stringent standard simply wasn't
attainable. EPA notes that
attainment of the 0.003 lb/GWh will still require installation of
the same types of pollution control equipment.
I think that the real impact of the change – almost none
– is demonstrated by the
statement from Scott Segal, who represents the Electric
Reliability Coordinating Council:
"It is an admission there was a problem with the rule and
it's a step in the right direction to help minimize the impact
to new sources. But it's by no means an indication the
agency is committed to even-handed treatment of fossil
fuels."
