The US EPA Finalizes Replacement to Clean Power Plan
On June 19, 2019 US EPA announced that it had finalized its replacement to the 2015 Clean Power Plan, the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. The 2015 Clean Power Plan was issued as part of EPA’s court-mandated requirement to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants under the Clean Air Act. However, following considerable litigation and opposition from the Trump administration, EPA announced in 2017 that it would repeal and replace the plan. The proposed ACE rule will not establish emissions caps, but will instead give states broad flexibility in determining how stringently they want to control power plant emissions under their jurisdiction. The rule will also make less strict the efficiency threshold for when New Source Review applies to facilities. The rule will also extend the timeline for when states must submit their plans to more closely match the schedule required for state implementation plans under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The rule will not receive an effective date until it is published in the Federal Register.
Source:
US EPA Finalizes Replacement to Clean Power Plan, June 19, 2019.
