Cleaner air worth cost of tougher rules, group says

Cleaner air worth cost of tougher rules, group says

By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer

An environmental advocacy group has called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adopt tougher air pollution restrictions on power plants, arguing that more lives could be saved at minimal cost.

A new EPA plan to reduce toxic soot from power plants in Tennessee and 28 other states could prevent about 13,000 premature deaths every year, according to the agency.

A U.S. Department of Energy study of the EPA's plan estimated that it would cost electric customers about $19 more a year to pay the utilities' costs of installing pollution-reducing equipment.

Using the EPA data and an EPA formula, researchers with nonpartisan advocacy group Environmental Defense said Tuesday that the EPA plan as now proposed could prevent about 440 premature deaths in Tennessee each year. If EPA placed slightly tougher limits on power plant pollution, 530 premature deaths could be prevented with moderate increases in cost to power companies.

"We're talking about huge public health benefits compared to a relatively small cost," said Michael Shore, an air quality manager with Environmental Defense. "In Tennessee, power plants are a major emitter of pollution, and the EPA rule needs to be strengthened."

The EPA's new interstate air quality rule is expected to take effect by the end of the year, according to EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman.

The EPA rule would target the aging, coal-fired power plants operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. There are eight coal-fired plants in Tennessee, including the Cumberland plant northwest of Nashville and the Gallatin plant on the northern banks of the Cumberland River.

From TVA's perspective, the EPA rules "go about as far and as fast as the utility can afford to go," said John Shipp, TVA's vice president of environmental policy and planning.

TVA is spending $5.6 billion to reduce pollution at its coal-fired plants and expects to spend another $4 billion on top of that to comply with the new EPA rules, Shipp said. The only way TVA can afford the additional pollution controls is by raising electricity rates, he said.

"In our case, if we spend another $4 billion, the only place it can come from is our ratepayers," he said.

Shipp said he did not know exactly how much TVA rates would increase under the EPA plan, explaining that the DOE estimate is the only one available.

A DOE estimate on rate increases associated with the federal Clear Skies Act, which calls for similar pollution reductions, is $19 per household per year by 2010.

Will Callaway, executive director of the Tennessee Environmental Council, said some parts of the state would not be able to comply with federal air quality rules, even with the EPA limits.

"We have serious air quality problems here in Tennessee, and the users of electricity have to pay to clean that up," he said. "But most people are willing to pay more so that their children can breathe clean air and lead better-quality lives."

The 29 states targeted by the EPA's proposed rules are affected by power plants in and out of state.

About 40% of Tennessee's air pollution comes from out-of-state power plants, something state officials have no ability to control, according to the Environmental Defense report.

Under the EPA's new rules, power plants in the 29 states would be required to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 3.6 million tons in 2010, which is about 40% below current levels.

And the plants would be required to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 1.5 million tons in 2010 and 1.8 million tons annually by 2015. That is about 65% below today's levels.

Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are found in the fine particles of soot released by coal-fired plants. EPA's Web site says the toxic substances have been linked to heart disease as well as such respiratory diseases as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma.

The EPA estimates that it will cost utilities about $1,000 to reduce a ton of sulfur dioxide and about $1,500 to reduce a ton of nitrogen oxides.

But according to the Environmental Defense report, the EPA could increase utility costs — to $1,500 for sulfur dioxide and $2,000 for nitrogen dioxide — and create huge benefits for the environment and health.

Shore said that under the Environmental Defense plan, 3,000 more deaths related to air quality could be prevented each year.

The numbers are based on an EPA formula that links the amount of pollution to the number of premature deaths, Shore said.

Bergman, of the EPA, said she agrees that states have been coping with power plant pollution for too long and need federal help. But she called the Environmental Defense report shortsighted.

She said the EPA is taking several steps to reduce fine particulate pollution, which comes primarily from diesel engines and power plants. Other measures include proposed limits on mercury emissions from power plants, and new regulations for large, diesel-powered equipment used for construction and land-clearing.

"All of these measures are designed to deal with the problem," she said.

But Environmental Defense isn't the only group calling for stricter limits on power plants.

Other environmental groups said the technology exists to clean up power plants and diesel engines, but appointed and elected officials are reluctant to regulate large industries such as utilities and trucking companies.

"We're not talking about a technological challenge. We're talking about a political challenge," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, an environmental advocacy group. "But the bottom line is people want to breathe less of the pollutants that make them sick, and these rules don't go far enough to give us clean air in Tennessee."