The State Clean Power Act

Summary: The Clean Power Act amends state health and environmental law to reduce emisions of four major pollutants from electric generating power plants.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act shall be called the "[STATE] Clean Power Act."

SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

(A) FINDINGS—The legislature finds that:

1. Four pollutants—nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide—are the major cause of some of the most serious environmental problems we face, including acid rain, smog, mercury poisoning, and global warming.

2. A high quality-of-life environment has been, and will continue to be, essential to our state’s economic well-being. Protecting our state’s high quality-of-life environment by reducing air pollutant emissions returns substantial benefit to the state through avoided health care costs, and healthier lakes, waterways, forests and farms.

3. Scientific advances have demonstrated that adequate protection of public health, environmental quality, and economic well-being—three cornerstones of our quality of life—requires additional, concerted reductions in air pollutant emissions.

4. Recent studies and scientific evidence indicate that significant negative human health and ecosystem impacts are caused by air pollution. 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, warranting additional emissions reductions from these sources.

(B) PURPOSE—This law is enacted to protect the health and safety of state residents and improve the quality of life and the economic vitality of the state.

SECTION 3. CLEAN POWER

After section XXX, the following new section XXX shall be inserted:

(A) DEFINITIONS

1. "Department" means the [Department of Natural Resources].

2. "Director" means the Director of the [Department of Natural Resources].

3. "Person" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or political subdivision of the state or agency of the United States.

4. "Power plant" means every stationary source using a combustion installation to generate electricity for sale or use and having a nameplate capacity of 15 megawatts or greater.

(B) POWER PLANT EMISSIONS AND PERFORMANCE

1. The Department shall promulgate regulations requiring all power plants to—

a. Emit no more than 1.5 pounds per megawatt hour of total nitrogen oxide emissions by January 1, 2005, and reduce aggregate nitrogen oxide emissions by 75 percent from 1997 levels by January 1, 2007.

b. Emit no more than 6 pounds per megawatt hour of total sulfur dioxide emissions by January 1, 2005 and no more than 3 pounds per megawatt hour of total sulfur dioxide emissions by January 1, 2007.

c. Reduce aggregate mercury emissions by an amount equal to 90 percent from 1999 levels by January 1, 2007.

d. Reduce aggregate carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by January 1, 2007. The Department may establish or employ an emissions credit trading mechanism to facilitate compliance with carbon dioxide requirements.

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. The plan shall contain an assessment of mercury air emission sources in the state, establish standards to eliminate the threat to public health and the environment of such sources, and ensure that any captured or recovered mercury is not re-released into the environment.

3. The regulations promulgated under this section shall include policies and incentives to increase energy efficiency of electricity and natural gas use, and efficiency in electricity production, to help achieve emissions reduction objectives. 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 U.S. Department of Energy November 2000 report "Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future."

4. 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 section or may become applicable after such effective date.

(C) ENFORCEMENT

1. A violation of this section, or regulations issued pursuant to this section, shall be subject to enforcement by injunction, 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.

2. Any person who willfully violates this section, or regulations issued pursuant to this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if an individual, or guilty of a felony if other than an individual.

3. The Director, 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 chapter or any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter. Any administrative fine imposed under this paragraph shall not preclude the imposition of further penalties under this chapter. Notice and hearing prior to the imposition of an administrative fine shall be in accordance with procedural rules adopted by the Department, and the Director may assess an additional fine for repeat violations.

SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE—This act shall take effect on July 1, 2004.

This model legislation  relies in large part on materials provided by the State Environmental Resource Center.   SERC mapped out the high road on eliminating dirty coal burning power plants, and we'd like to thank them for being environmental trailblazers on the high road. 

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