Tweet
New EPA Rules Put Onus on Energy Plants to Protect Downwind States
"There are five or six other regulations coming down the pike that will have a huge impact on industry and on consumers and businesses, especially in parts of the country where we still have industrial manufacturing jobs," said Jeffrey Holmstead , an expert in environmental strategies at the law firm of Bracewell and Giuliani.
Industry studies suggest that the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, when coupled with other EPA regulations, could force the closure of scores of coal-fired power plants, raise the price of electricity by as much as 23 percent in some areas, and cause 1.4 million job losses by 2020.
Environmentalists dispute those findings, suggesting that retrofitting scrubbers in hundreds of power plants nationwide will produce thousands of short-term jobs. John Walke of the Natural Resources Defense Council says the costs borne by utilities and electricity consumers will be made up by the recouping of lost productivity, illness and death caused by pollution.
Industry studies suggest that the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, when coupled with other EPA regulations, could force the closure of scores of coal-fired power plants, raise the price of electricity by as much as 23 percent in some areas, and cause 1.4 million job losses by 2020.
Environmentalists dispute those findings, suggesting that retrofitting scrubbers in hundreds of power plants nationwide will produce thousands of short-term jobs. John Walke of the Natural Resources Defense Council says the costs borne by utilities and electricity consumers will be made up by the recouping of lost productivity, illness and death caused by pollution.