Adam Dilts

October 27, 2006

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several environmental organizations recently settled a case pending before the D.C. Court of Appeals challenging a 2005 EPA letter concerning "Best Available Control Technology Requirements for Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plant Projects." The environmental plaintiffs asserted that the letter, sent by the Director of EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards to a utility industry consultant, had established a de facto climate change policy by providing guidance on the permitting requirement for new coal-fired power plants.

In the letter, dated Dec. 13, 2005, EPA advised power plant builders that they need not consider the use of integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology to satisfy "best available control technology" requirements under the Clean Air Act. Environmentalists, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense, asserted the EPA letter was being interpreted and applied by industry and the states as official EPA policy. As such, they relied on the document to avoid consideration of IGCC technology.

In the settlement agreement, EPA has agreed to remove any reference to the letter and expressly state that the communication was not a final agency action nor was it intended to be legally binding. The parties also agreed to hold open discussions on IGCC technology with the goal of drafting new policy regulations on the issue.

IGCC Technology has been identified by many as an important new technology for coal-based electricity generation. It involves the conversion of pulverized coal into a gas which is then used to fuel electric turbines. The process not only increases the efficiency of the electricity generation process, but it also reduces pollution levels and could facilitate carbon dioxide sequestration.

For more information, please see the following sources:

Letter from Steven D. Page to Paul Plath, Best Available Control Technology Requirements for Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plant Projects, available at http://www.epa.gov/Region7/programs/artd/air/nsr/nsrmemos/igccbact.pdf.

Environmental Defense, Press Release, EPA Policy Discouraging Advanced Coal Technologies Has No Binding Legal Effect, available at http://www.environmentaldefense.org/pressrelease.cfm?ContentID=5531.