EPA OKs the ‘Most Important Air Pollution Rule for Texas That No One Has Ever Heard Of’

The EPA plans to hold a public hearing on the rule in Austin Jan. 10.

By Mose BucheleDecember 20, 2016 9:30 am, , ,

Audio will be available shortly.

From KUT

With little fanfare the Environmental Protection Agency released a new environmental rule last week that would limit sulphur dioxide pollution from power plants as part of the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.

Public health advocates are cheering the proposal because sulphur dioxide in the air can cause asthma and even death. But there’s some irony to the new proposed rule: It was proposed, in part, because Texas successfully fought back another emission rule saying it would raise electric bills.

“It’s actually because that rule got wiped out that in some ways these more stringent rules became necessary,” said Dan Cohan, a professor of environmental engineering at Rice University.

Cohan calls the rule “the most important air pollution rule for Texas that no one has ever heard of.”

He says it could force a lot of Texas coal power plants to simply close, because installing upgrades would be too expensive. That, in turn, would leave more room for renewable power and natural gas to come online significantly changing, and maybe greening, the Texas energy mix.

But there’s a wrinkle in that scenario – a wrinkle called Donald Trump.

“I’m not naïve that the new administration will likely be hostile to regulations on energy,” said Chrissy Mann with the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign.

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