Bill Text

The Clean Power Act

An Act to Reduce Additional Emissions of Four Pollutants from the Electric Generating Power Plants in Our State.

Summary: An Act to amend state health and environmental law to reduce emissions from electric power plants, and for other purposes.

The people of the state of <insert state here>, represented by the Senate and House of Representatives, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Purpose.

Four pollutants are the major cause of some of the most serious environmental problems we face, including acid rain, smog, mercury poisoning, and global warming. This legislation directs the appropriate department within our state to promulgate regulations for the reduction of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide emissions.

Section 2. Legislative Findings.

(A) The Legislature finds that a high quality of life environment has been, and will continue to be, essential to our state’s economic well-being. The Legislature further finds that protecting our state’s high quality of life environment by reducing air pollutant emissions returns substantial economic benefit to the state through avoided health care costs; greater tourism resulting from healthier lakes and improved vistas; more visits by fishermen, hunters, and wildlife viewers to wildlife ecosystems; and, a more productive forest and agricultural sector.

(B) The Legislature finds that scientific advances have demonstrated that adequate protection of public health, environmental quality, and economic well-being – the three cornerstones of our quality of life – requires additional, concerted reductions in air pollutant emissions.

(C) Recent studies and scientific evidence indicate that significant negative human health and ecosystem impacts continue to be caused by air pollution. The Legislature finds that the substantial quantities of several harmful air pollutants that continue to be emitted from existing fossil fuel-burning power plants, despite recent reductions in the emission of certain air pollutants from some of these facilities, contribute to these harmful impacts and that additional emissions reductions from these sources are warranted.

(D) The Legislature hereby finds that mercury is highly toxic and persistent, that it bioaccumulates in food chains, and that, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, most of the mercury currently entering the water bodies of the United States is the result of air emissions.

(E) Specifically, the Legislature finds that aggressive further reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), mercury, and carbon dioxide (CO2) must be pursued. For the above reasons and others, the Legislature finds that substantial additional reductions in emissions of SO2, NOx, mercury, and CO2 must be required of our state’s existing fossil fuel-burning power plants.

Section 3. Definitions.

In this Act:

(A) “Department” means the state Department of Environmental Protection <or your state’s equivalent department>.

(B) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection <or your state’s equivalent department>.

(C) “Person” means any individual, partnership, firm or co-partnership, association, company, trust, corporation, department, bureau, agency, private or municipal corporation, or any political subdivision of the state, the United States, or political subdivisions or agencies thereof, or any other entity recognized by law as subject to rights and duties.

(D) “Power plant” shall apply to every stationary source located within the state with a nameplate capacity of fifteen megawatts or greater that uses a combustion installation to generate electricity for sale or use.

Section 4. Power Plant Emissions and Performance Standards.

The provisions of this section shall apply to all power plants of this state as defined in Section 3 (D).

(A)

(1) No later than thirty days after the effective date of this Act, the Commissioner shall, on an emergency basis, promulgate regulations such that all sources subject to this section emit no more than 1.5 pounds per megawatt hour of total nitrogen oxide emissions by <1 year after the effective date of this Act>.

(2) No later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this Act, the Commissioner shall promulgate regulations such that aggregate nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants be reduced by 75 percent from 1997 levels by <5 years after the effective date of this Act>.

(B)

(1) No later than thirty days after the effective date of this Act, the Commissioner shall, on an emergency basis, promulgate regulations such that all sources subject to this section emit no more than 6 pounds per megawatt hour of total sulfur dioxide emissions by <1 year after the effective date of this Act>.

(2) No later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this Act, the Commissioner shall promulgate regulations such that all sources subject to this section emit no more than 3 pounds per megawatt hour of total sulfur dioxide emissions by <5 years after the effective date of this Act>.

(3) No later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this Act, the Commissioner shall promulgate regulations such that aggregate sulfur dioxide emissions are reduced by 75 percent from the levels required at full implementation of the Phase II sulfur dioxide requirements under title IV (relating to acid deposition control) by <5 years after the effective date of this Act>.

(C)

(1) No later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this Act, the Commissioner shall promulgate regulations such that aggregate mercury emissions from power plants be reduced by 90 percent from 1999 level emissions by <5 years after the effective date of this Act>.

(2) The Department must prepare and develop a general comprehensive plan for the control or abatement of existing air pollution and for the control or prevention of any new air pollution recognizing varying requirements for different areas of the state. Such plan shall contain an assessment of the sources of mercury air emissions in the state and establish standards to eliminate the threat to public health and the environment. The plan should ensure that any captured or recovered mercury is not re-released into the environment.

(D) No later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this Act, the Commissioner shall promulgate regulations such that aggregate carbon dioxide emissions from all sources subject to this section be permanently capped at no greater than the level of 1990 carbon dioxide emissions from these sources by <5 years after the effective date of this Act>.

(E) The Department may establish or employ an emissions credit trading mechanism to facilitate compliance with carbon dioxide requirements.

(F) The regulations promulgated to carry out this section shall include appropriate policies and incentives to increase energy efficiency of electricity and natural gas use and electricity production to help achieve the emission reduction objectives specified in this section. These policies and incentives shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be at least as effective as the advanced demand-side policies for end-use sectors and advanced supply-side policies for the electricity sector described in the report prepared by the Department of Energy entitled, “Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future,” and dated November 2000.

(G) The emission rates, limitations, and practices required by this section shall not be construed to supersede more stringent emission rates, limitations, and practices that are applicable on the effective date of this Act or may become applicable after such effective date.

Section 5. Enforcement.

(A) Any violation of any provision of this Act, or of any rule adopted under this Act, shall be subject to enforcement by injunction, including mandatory injunction, issued by the Superior Court upon application of the Attorney General. Any such violation shall also be subject to a civil forfeiture to the state of not more than $25,000 for each violation, and for each day of a continuing violation.

(B) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Act, or any rule adopted under this Act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, if a natural person, or guilty of a felony, if any other person.

(C) The Commissioner, after notice and hearing, may impose an administrative fine not to exceed $2,000 for each offense upon any person who violates any provision of this Act or any rule adopted pursuant to this Act. Any administrative fine imposed under this subsection shall not preclude the imposition of further penalties under this Act. The proceeds of administrative fines imposed pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the general fund.

(1) Notice and hearing prior to the imposition of an administrative fine shall be in accordance with procedural rules adopted by the Commissioner.

(2) The Commissioner may assess an additional fine for repeat violations.

Section 6. Effective Date.

This Act shall take effect immediately upon passage.

Section 7. Severability.

If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Act, which can be given effect without regard to the invalid provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this Act are severable.