Yesterday, EPA finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution
Rule, or CSAPR, which was the Transport Rule, which had
been the Clean Air Interstate Rule. (EPA must have decided that
CSAPR results in a more mellifluous acronym.)
The rule is almost too big to describe, except in its broadest
terms. EPA has provided a summary of costs and
benefits, but even EPA's summary does not really explain how
the rule will be implemented.
The rough numbers at least give some idea of the scope of the
rule and the problem it is addressing. EPA estimates that the rule
will reduce SO2 emissions by 73% from 2005 levels
starting in 2012 and will reduce NOx emissions by 54%.
These reductions will eliminate more than 10,000 premature deaths
annually, according to EPA's analysis. Total monetized economic
benefits are up to $280 billion annually. EPA estimates annual
compliance costs to be only $800 million, though that does not
include $1.6 billion in annual costs already being incurred
