Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
10/16/2015
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito’s (R-W.Va.) Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act (ARENA) would not stop the Environmental Protection Agency from addressing carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released Oct. 8.
The bill, which was introduced in May and is now in committee, contains language that would repeal the EPA’s proposed carbon emissions standards for new and existing coal-fired power plants and would place strict limits on the agency’s ability to set similar standards in the future. However, “The bill would not prohibit EPA from continuing to work on activities related to power plants, such as developing guidance and providing technical assistance to states. Based on information from EPA, CBO estimates that implementing this legislation would not have a significant effect on EPA’s workload or spending related to power plant emissions,” the report says.
The EPA rules in question address emissions from existing and new coal-fired power plants. Under the existing source rule, states would be required to develop action plans to meet federally set emissions reduction goals. The new source rule mandates that any new-build coal-fired power plant would be required to employ partial carbon capture and storage technology. The ARENA Act would repeal both of these rules.
Under the ARENA Act, any technology-based emissions standard, such as the rule for new-build plants, must be proved achievable for a minimum of one year on at least six plants in the United States, excluding any federally funded demonstration projects.
According to the report, CBO expects that “EPA would likely propose a new rule for carbon emissions from new, modified, and reconstructed power plants, consistent with the requirements of this legislation.”
