VA joins fight against rules on old plants

VA joins fight against rules on old plants

By DAVE FLESSNER
BUSINESS EDITOR

The Tennessee Valley Authority, which is already fighting a federal order to clean up its oldest coal plants in court, is joining other utilities to also mount a political battle against urging its aging plants up to today's clean-air standards.

TVA will pay $15,000 a month to a coalition of utilities formed last month in Washington, D.C., to encourage the Bush White House to back off a controversial ruling issued by the Clinton administration two years ago. The group has hired former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour to lobby the Bush administration and Congress to drop an Environmental Protection Agency order that TVA officials estimate could push up its generating costs by more than $1 billion.

"This is a very sad commentary on TVA's commitment to clean air," said Dr. Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "Hiring a fat cat D.C. lobbyist to undermine the enforcement of the Clean Air Act is a significant step in the wrong direction."

TVA officials said Tuesday

TVA: Utilities join in political battle

No TVA money will be used to pay Mr. Barbour or other lobbyists, however. "Our support for this group is only as a technical member to help promote the development and exchange of information related to this issue," TVA spokesman John Moulton said.

TVA and other utilities claim EPA unfairly altered its regulations two years ago when it ordered TVA and seven other utilities to bring their oldest coal plants up to today's new source standards for coal plants. Previously, the plants built before the 1977 Clean Air Act were not subject to today's standards.

EPA officials claim that maintenance improvements to the older plants over time constituted new construction and therefore require that the older plants now meet current rules for new plants.

But utilities argue that the new EPA interpretation will discourage power producers from making efficiency improvements to their older plants for fear of bringing those plants under the new source standards.

"That discourages making the very efficiency gains in power plants we need at this time," said Scott Segal, an attorney for the National Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, the group supported by TVA and more than a half dozen other utilities.

In its energy plan outlined last month, the Bush administration agreed to review the EPA ruling.

The White House is scheduled to issue its findings in August.

NERCC will gather information on the potential cost of the EPA interpretation to encourage the White House to alter the EPA ruling, Mr. Segal said.

Environmentalists complain that TVA and other utilities have skirted air pollution rules by rebuilding their older plants, rather than erecting new power generating facilities.

Dr. Smith said he is disappointed that TVA's board, which lost Chairman Craven Crowell in April, still is continuing to fight the EPA rules for its oldest coal plants.

"The new leadership at TVA seems to be working aggressively against clean air protection," he said.