EPA Revises Tough New Source Provisions for MATS Mercury Emission Limitation

EPA has proposed reconsideration of certain provisions for new coal- and oil-fired electric utilities under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The proposal calls for new emission limits for mercury, particulate matter, acid gases and some individual metals. In addition, the proposal would revise and clarify startup and shutdown provisions in MATS and in the related Utility New Source Performance Standards, which were issued with MATS. EPA has stated that the new proposal will call for the same type of state-of-the-art control technologies that the previous MATS required. The agency also calculated that the proposal will not result in significant changes in cost, emission reductions, or health benefits from the previous new source MATS.

The original rule was deemed very difficult to meet by ICAC members. Therefore ICAC submitted a petition for reconsideration over the mercury emission limitation, recommending that “ICAC believes that a level of 3.0E-3 lb/GWh would yield the necessary level of assurance that plant operators require and that our industry can support through vendor guarantees.” EPA had finalized a 2.0E-4 lb/GWh standard. As the chart of the new proposed emission limitations below shows, EPA did accept ICAC’s recommendation:

The proposed rule and a fact sheet are found on the EPA website.