Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities to Comment
April 27, 2024
By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog April 26, 2024 | Full story
The following DEP notices were published in the April 27 PA Bulletin related to oil and gas industry facilities. Many of the notices offer the opportunity for public comments.
Land Recycling/Brownfield Cleanups
So far in 2024, DEP received or acted on 111 Act 2 Land Recycling notices related to oil and gas facility site cleanups.
Air Quality Permits
— Mountain Gathering LLC – Pipeline Compressor Station: DEP invites comments on proposed modifications of an Air Quality Plan Approval for the facility located in Forward Twp., Butler County. (PA Bulletin, page 2281)
— Anegada Energy LLC – Drake Shale Gas Well Pad: DEP issued an Air Quality Permit covering multiple air pollution sources at the well pad located in Worth Twp., Butler County. (PA Bulletin, page 2314)
NPDES Water Quality Permit
— Calpine Mid Merit, LLC – Gas-Fired Power Plant: DEP invites comments on the renewal of an NPDES Water Quality Permit for the discharge of industrial waste at this facility located in Peach Bottom Twp., York County. (PA Bulletin, page 2260)
— Fayette Power Co., LLC – Gas-Fired Power Plant: DEP invites comments on the renewal of an NPDES Water Quality Permit for the discharge of industrial waste at this facility located in German Twp., Fayette County. (PA Bulletin, page 2267)
Individual Stormwater Permits
— UGI Utilities, Inc. – 2 Miles of 16-Inch Gas Pipeline: DEP invites comments on an Individual Stormwater Permit for a pipeline project impacting Saucon Creek (High Quality) located in Bethlehem City and Lower Saucon Twp., Northampton County. (PA Bulletin, page 2271)
Chapter 105 Encroachment Permits
— Highland Field Services, LLC – 16-Inch Water Pipeline: DEP invites comments on a Chapter 105 permit for a pipeline project impacting Norris Brook (Exceptional Value), Baldwin Run (High Quality) and Exceptional Value wetlands in Middlebury Twp., Tioga County. [Error: Part of the notice contains this language– “The project will result in 215 linear feet of temporary stream impacts and 17,553 square feet (0.403 acre) of temporary wetland impacts all for the purpose of install- ing a natural gas pipeline in Delmar and Shippen Township, Tioga County.”] (PA Bulletin, page 2290)
— Chesapeake Appalachia LLC – 16-Inch Water Pipeline: DEP issued a Chapter 105 for a water pipeline to support shale gas drilling operations impacting Lick Creek (Exceptional Value) located in Cherry Twp., Sullivan County. (PA Bulletin, page 2317)
— Chesapeake Appalachia LLC – 16-Inch Water Pipeline: DEP issued a Chapter 105 for a water pipeline to support shale gas drilling operations impacting Little Loyalsock Creek (Exceptional Value) and Exceptional Value wetlands located in Cherry Twp., Sullivan County. (PA Bulletin, page 2318)
— CNX Midstream Operating Company, LLC – Expose Two 10-Inch Gas Pipelines, One 12-Inch Water Pipeline To Prevent Longwall Mining Damage: DEP issued a Chapter 105 permit for the project exposing the Morris to Nineveh Jumper Pipelines located in Morris Twp., Washington County. (PA Bulletin, page 2319)
— Repsol Oil & Gas USA LLC: DEP approved a Chapter 105 Environmental Assessment for the restoration of an existing water impoundment used to support shale gas drilling in Warren Twp., Bradford County. (PA Bulletin, page 2320)
Erosion & Sedimentation Permits
— Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting Sugar Run located in Albany Twp., Bradford County. (PA Bulletin, page 2320)
— Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting Sciota Brook in Colley Twp., Sullivan County. (PA Bulletin, page 2321)
— Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting Little Loyalsock Creek (Exceptional Value) in Cherry Twp., Sullivan County. (PA Bulletin, page 2321)
— CNX Midstream Opr Co., LLC: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a project impacting Dunkard Fork Creek in Richhill Twp., Greene County. (PA Bulletin, page 2321)
— Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC – Lines 1818 Renovo Gas Pipeline Cathodic Exposure Project: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for the project located in Chapman Twp., Clinton County. (PA Bulletin, page 2322)
— Highland Field Services, LLC – Pipeline Project: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for a pipeline project impacting Crooked Creek, Norris Brook (Exceptional Value) and Baldwin Run (High Quality) located in Delmar and Middlebury Townships, Tioga County. (PA Bulletin, page 2320)
— MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources LLC – Vankirk To Franklin Lakeview Pipeline: DEP issued a Chapter 102 permit for the project impacting Chartiers Creek in North Franklin and South Franklin Townships, Washington County. (PA Bulletin, page 2321)
Oil & Gas Well Drilling Permits [4.19.24]*
— Last Week – Permits: DEP issued 2 conventional and 6 unconventional
— Year To Date – Permits: DEP issued 62 conventional and 146 unconventional
— Year To Date – Wells Drilled: 39 conventional and 112 unconventional
UPDATED: April 25 Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Advisory Council to Discuss:
—Dumping Wastewater on Public Roads —Well Plugging Grant Programs —Regs. Limiting Methane Pollution From Wells
By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog April 24, 2024 | Full story
The agenda for the April 25 meeting of DCED’s PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council features a discussion dumping conventional oil and gas well wastewater on public roads for disposal, an update on taxpayer funded well plugging grant programs and DEP regulations limiting methane emissions from conventional wells.
Public Comment Period
The Council meeting includes a public comment period where anyone can present comments to the group.
To sign up to present comments, contact Adam Walters by sending email to: adwalters@pa.gov or call 717-214-6548.
Attending The Meeting
The Council meeting is being held at the Technology Center, Room 243, 200 Innovation Blvd. in State College from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Handouts for the meeting on the issue of DEP’s abandoned conventional oil and gas well list raise questions about the accuracy of the list and the confusion among the definitions for abandoned and orphaned wells.
The conventional industry maintains there is no increase in the number of wells they are abandoning, it is simply a data problem with DEP lists. Read more here.
DEP’s compliance database shows the number of violations issued by DEP for well abandonment is widespread across the industry.
There are more wells being given violations for abandoned than DEP is plugging with taxpayer money under the new taxpayer funded federal well plugging program.
In 2023, DEP issued violations to 271 conventional oil and gas wells for abandoning and not plugging those wells. Read more here.
So far in 2024, conventional well owners received 420 violations for abandoning and not plugging wells. Read more here.
Well owners also pass conventional wells off to other owners with less financial capacity to actually manage them, setting them on the path to abandonment. Read more here.
In 2023, DEP reported 89% of conventional oil and gas well owners failed to submit annual well integrity reports for 34,455 wells to ensure they aren’t leaking oil or venting gas. Read more here.
DEP issued a record 6,860 notices of violations to conventional well owners for breaking all kinds of regulations and laws in 2023. Read more here.
That’s 51.9% more than in 2021 and 569.9% more than in 2015.
Kurt Klapkowski, DEP Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management, told the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee in March–
“Unfortunately, reviewing inspection and compliance data developed since 2017, DEP has identified widespread non-compliance with laws and regulations in the conventional oil and gas industry, particularly regarding improper abandonment of oil and gas wells but also not reporting hydrocarbon and waste production and conducting mechanical integrity assessments.”
Change The Definition Of Abandoned
Comments by the industry are setting up an attempt by the conventional oil and gas well owners to change the law on legal responsibility for abandoned conventional wells.
DEP is enforcing current law which holds conventional well owners who own oil and gas wells responsible for their integrity and for meeting environmental standards in law and regulations.
The industry is looking at changing the law and not making conventional owners responsible for wells they own that are abandoned and not plugged before some date in the past.
Conventional oil and gas owners are already exempt from putting up any plugging bonds for any wells drilled before April 1985, but are still legally responsible for plugging.
This new change would put all the responsibility for plugging those wells on state taxpayers.
The conventional industry frequently gets Republican members to introduce last minute amendments to must-pass budget-related bills looking to gut Oil and Gas Act requirements.
Look for this to happen during this year’s budget discussions.
Conventional Wastewater Disposal
Several topics on the Council’s agenda deal with conventional oil and gas wastewater and what to do with it.
Dumping wastewater on public roads will be discussed as a disposal method.
A second item on the agenda proposes “In-Situ Remediation of Hydrocarbons And Sodium-based Contamination” — in other words disposing of wastewater on conventional drilling sites.
Conventional well owners have consistently pushed for legalizing the practice of disposing of their wastewater by dumping it on public roads.
Although illegal, but not banned, road dumping conventional wastewater on dirt and paved public roads is happening indiscriminately every day on conventional drilling areas, according to citizens monitoring this disposal practice. Read more here.
Road dumping was the subject of an April 17 Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing where presenters recommended an immediate and total ban on road dumping to prevent millions of gallons of wastewater from polluting the environment. Read more here.
GCI has made presentations to the Council before to try to get conventional well owners interested in using their water treatment services to treat their wastewater.
The stumbling block has always been someone would have to pay for it.
“GCI of Titusville reported to CDAC that a threat of a lawsuit from the Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Office was adversely affecting their ability to expand their oil and gas produced water treatment facility at Titusville and to open new produced water treatment facilities in other parts of the oil and gas fields of Pennsylvania.
“As GCI is one of the few remaining produced water treatment facilities in Pennsylvania CDAC sent a letter[to] the Attorney General’s Office requesting information on the nature of their concern with GCI and if any actions could be taken by the Attorney General to alleviate this situation.
“To date no response has been received by CDAC.”
Taxpayer Funded Well Plugging
On the agenda are updates on taxpayer funded grant programs to conventional well owners to plug active wells venting methane and a second program to give taxpayer money to well owners to plug abandoned wells they do not own.
Financial Assurance
A recurring topic at Council meetings is a discussion of initiatives to get conventional oil and gas well owners to put aside adequate amounts of money to plug wells when they walk away from them so taxpayers don’t have to pay the bill like they do now.
NEW: Ben Lorah, Executive Director of the state’s Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund that provides cleanup insurance to owners of underground tanks, will make a presentation to the Council on the program.
At the October Council meeting, DEP discussed the innovative concept of having a “life insurance” program for conventional wells to pay for well plugging. Read more here.
An attempt to raise bonding amounts for conventional well owners was cut short in 2022 when the conventional industry got a law passed prohibiting DEP from increasing bonding amounts for 10 years. Read more here.
Methane Reduction Regs
DEP adopted regulations in December 2022 limiting methane emissions from conventional oil and gas wells and a separate regulation for unconventional shale gas operations.
Both regulations have the same emission reduction requirements as required by the US. Environmental Protection Agency.
Conventional oil and gas facilities account for 80% of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania because they have done little or nothing to control them, according to DEP. Read more here.
That lawsuit is still pending so it is unclear how much DEP will be able to discuss the regulation.
Other Topics?
At the October Council meeting, DEP discussed the concept of establishing a certified well inspector program for the Oil and Gas Program modeled on the certified storage tank inspector program DEP already operates. Read more here.
The 1989 state Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act created a whole new private industry with the certified inspector program that has worked very well.
Tank owners pay the inspectors to do inspections and work with them, rather than a state inspector, to correct problems.
Conventional operators were cool to the idea of paying anyone for inspections saying it was an “unnecessary cost.” Read more here.
DEP estimated conventional well owners now pay only $46,100 of the $10.6 million cost of regulating their industry through the payment of permit application fees in FY 2020-21, so they aren’t even paying enough to support one DEP inspector. Read more here.
Permit fee income from conventional well owners is down dramatically this year and last as the industry pulls back from drilling new wells.
Other Handouts
These other handouts were made available to Council members–
PENNSYLVANIA (April 22, 2024) – Last week, the federal government finalized a significant rule that increases minimum bonding amounts from $10,000 to $150,000 per oil and gas lease on federal land.
Well bond amounts are the money that drilling companies have to put aside for eventual cleanup and plugging before being allowed to drill a new well. However, when bond amounts are less than the actual cost of plugging, taxpayers are left responsible for cleanup costs when companies go out of business and abandon their well. With over 130,000 documented orphaned wells in the United States polluting the environment and harming community health—and new wells being drilled every day without adequate bonding—this increase was long overdue.
New wells are being drilled every day without adequate bonding.
“In raising federal lease bond amounts to reflect actual cleanup costs, the federal government is taking an important step to protect both taxpayers and the environment,” said Alex Bomstein, Executive Director of the Clean Air Council. “But while the rest of the country moves forward, Pennsylvania has regressed. In 2022, the Pennsylvania legislature passed Act 96, which capped the bond amount for conventional wells at a pittance of $2,500 per well, far below the actual cost.
In 2022, the Pennsylvania legislature passed Act 96, which capped the bond amount for conventional wells at a pittance of $2,500 per well, far below the actual cost.
Alex Bomstein, Executive Director of the Clean Air Council
To protect Pennsylvanians, the Council and our partners are pursuing a joint lawsuit asking the court to rule Act 96 unconstitutional under the Environmental Rights Amendment.
Pennsylvania’s well bonding system is broken and sacrifices community health and taxpayer dollars.
The federal government’s decision this month underscores how Pennsylvania’s well bonding system is broken and sacrifices community health and taxpayer dollars.”
Joint lawsuit asking the court to rule Act 96 unconstitutional under the Environmental Rights Amendment (67-page PDF)
“In updating its bonding amount, BLM is acknowledging that the current amount established more than 60 years ago was insufficient to cover the costs of cleaning up abandoned wells. This will save taxpayers from the burden of reclaiming wells after oil and gas companies neglect to clean up their polluting mess. This change reflects the reality of how expensive it is to protect people’s health and the environment from abandoned wells. We’re just asking Pennsylvania leaders to reach the same commonsense conclusions,” said Kelsey Krepps, Senior Field Organizer at Sierra Club.
“We’re just asking Pennsylvania leaders to reach the same commonsense conclusions.”
Kelsey Krepps, Senior Field Organizer at Sierra Club
The Harrisburg metro area had the second-most serious air pollution levels in the mid-Atlantic region during 2020-2022, with Dauphin County’s annual average exceeding new federal air quality standards, according to the American Lung Association.
Air quality monitors maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection take readings on ozone and fine particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or PM2.5, contaminants linked to a number of respiratory problems.
2024 ‘State of the Air’ Report Reveals Most ‘Hazardous’ Air Quality Days in 25 Years
American Lung Association’s 25th annual report finds that 131 million people in the U.S. are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution.
The American Lung Association’s new “State of the Air” report reveals that spikes in deadly particle pollution are the most severe they’ve been in the history of the report. According to the new report, people in the U.S. experienced the most days with “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” air quality due to particle pollution in 25 years. In total, the report finds that 131 million people (39%) are living in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution.
Allegheny County, PA High Ozone Days – D Particle Pollution – 24 hour – F Particle Pollution – Annual – FAIL Source
The Lung Association’s 25th annual “State of the Air” report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution (also known as smog) and short-term spikes and annual average of particle pollution (also known as soot) over a three-year period. This year’s report includes the most recent quality-assured air quality data from 2020-2022 and is updated to reflect the new annual particle pollution standard that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized in February 2024.
“We have seen impressive progress in cleaning up air pollution over the last 25 years, thanks in large part to the Clean Air Act. However, when we started this report, our team never imagined that 25 years in the future, more than 130 million people would still be breathing unhealthy air,” said Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. “Climate change is causing more dangerous air pollution. Every day that there are unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution means that someone – a child, grandparent, uncle or mother – struggles to breathe. We must do more to ensure everyone has clean air.”
The report found that nearly 4 in 10 people live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution.
The report found that nearly 4 in 10 people live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution. 43.9 million people live in areas with failing grades for all three measures. People of color are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy air and are also more likely to be living with one or more chronic conditions that make them especially vulnerable to air pollution, including asthma, diabetes and heart disease. The report found that a person of color in the U.S. is 2.3 times more likely than a white individual to live in a community with a failing grade on all three air pollution measures.
Particle Pollution
Fine particulate matter air pollution, also known as PM2.5, particle pollution or soot, can be deadly. These particles come from wildfires, wood-burning stoves, coal-fired power plants, diesel engines and other sources. These microscopic particles can trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, and cause lung cancer.
The report has two grades for particle pollution: one for “short-term” particle pollution, or daily spikes, and one for the annual average “year-round” level that represents the concentration of particles in each location.
Short-Term Particle Pollution
Spikes in particle pollution continue to impact communities in many parts of the country. The report finds that 65 million people lived in counties that experienced unhealthy spikes in particle pollution, the highest number reported in 14 years. In the three years covered by this report, individuals in the U.S. experienced the highest number of days when particle pollution reached “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” levels in the 25 years of reporting the “State of the Air.”
Short term particle pollution spikes are a clear example of the impacts that climate change is having on health. Changing weather patterns are driving more frequent and severe wildfires, which are delivering dangerous levels of particle pollution to more communities.
Top 5 Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution:
Bakersfield, CA
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
Fairbanks, AK
Eugene-Springfield, OR
Visalia, CA
Year-Round Particle Pollution
More than 90.7 million people live in one of the 119 counties where year-round particle pollution levels are worse than the new national air quality limit. This is the largest number in the report’s history. It is an increase of 71.9 million compared to last year’s report. This increase is partly due to EPA’s new, stricter National Ambient Air Quality Standard for the annual measure of fine particulate matter, finalized in February. The standard now better reflects the science on health harm and shows that millions of people are living in areas that have unhealthy levels of annual particle pollution.
Top 5 Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution:
Bakersfield, CA
Visalia, CA
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
Eugene-Springfield, OR
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
Ozone Pollution
Ground-level ozone pollution is a powerful respiratory irritant whose effects have been likened to a sunburn of the lungs. Inhaling ozone can cause shortness of breath, trigger coughing and asthma attacks and may shorten life. Warmer temperatures driven by climate change make ozone more likely to form and harder to clean up.
Although there were exceptions, ozone pollution has generally improved across the nation. 2.4 million fewer people lived in areas with unhealthy ozone pollution compared to last year’s report, but more than 100 million people (nearly 30%) still live with unhealthy ozone pollution. The “State of the Air” report has seen a dramatic improvement in ozone pollution over the last 25 years. The first “State of the Air,” released in May 2000, reported that 72% of people in the U.S. who lived in counties with ozone monitors had unhealthy levels of ozone pollution.
Top 5 Cities Most Polluted by Ozone Pollution:
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
Visalia, CA
Bakersfield, CA
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
Cleanest Cities
The report also recognizes the nation’s cleanest cities. To make the cleanest list for all three measures, a city must experience no high ozone or particle pollution days and rank among the 25 cities with the lowest year-round particle pollution levels.
Cleanest U.S. Cities (listed in alphabetical order):
Bangor, ME
Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
Lincoln-Beatrice, NE
Urban Honolulu, HI
Wilmington, NC
The 2024 “State of the Air” reports on air quality during the three years (2020-2022) of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many people speculated that the changes in behaviors during the pandemic, such as working from home, would result in improved air quality, this report shows that poor air quality continued to impact millions of people during those years. Notably, freight and goods movement on heavy-duty trucks, by rail and at ports increased significantly in some regions, adding to increased pollution burdens. In addition, wildfire smoke presented a major and increasing threat to lung health during these years.
EPA recently finalized new air pollution rules that will help clean up particle pollution and address climate change, such as the updated particle pollution standards, a rule to place stricter limits on tailpipe emissions from new cars and a rule to clean up truck pollution. Now, the Lung Association is urging EPA to set long-overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution. Stronger limits would help people protect themselves and drive cleanup of polluting sources across the country.
See the full report results and sign the petition at Lung.org/SOTA.
About the American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to champion clean air for all; to improve the quality of life for those with lung disease and their families; and to create a tobacco-free future. For more information about the American Lung Association, which has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and is a Platinum-Level GuideStar Member, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org. To support the work of the American Lung Association, find a local event at Lung.org/events.
Pennsylvania’s consumer advocate wants to bring rates down to earth.
By Anya Litvak | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | April 28, 2024 excerpt
Southwestern Pennsylvania residents are paying some of their highest utility bills ever and are bracing for further increases next year.
Both electric utilities that serve the region — Downtown-based Duquesne Light and West Penn Power, a subsidiary of Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. — have filed for rate hikes in the past few months. Duquesne is asking for what would amount to a 6.5% rise in the average monthly residential bill. West Penn Power’s proposal calls for a 10.6% increase.
Duquesne Light 6.5%
West Penn Power 10.6%
Note: Supply charges only make-up part of the total utility bill.
“Costs are outrageous for consumers. People can’t pay their bills. Period.”
Patrick Cicero, Pennsylvania’s consumer advocate
Note: Supply charges only make-up part of the utility bill, which amounted to 18% of the total bill in May 2023.
And North Shore-based Peoples Natural Gas and Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, which is part of the Indiana utility conglomerate NiSource Inc., also have filed for increases, starting next year. Peoples’ request, if granted, would add between 7.6% and 21.4% to monthly bills, depending on which division of the company serves the customer. Columbia is proposing a 15.9% hike.
(Capacity factors are a comparison of net generation with available capacity. Data are available only for utility-scale installations.)
Source: “Electric Power Monthly” U.S. Energy Information Administration (February 26, 2024)
2023 (preliminary data)
52.8% – Wood
59.6% – Biomass
2022
57.9% – Wood
60.2% – Other Biomass
2021
59.9% – Wood
63.2% – Other Biomass
2020
57.8% – Wood
62.5% – Other Biomass
2015
59.3% – Wood
62.6% – Other Biomass
2012 (2010 data not available)
61.3% – Wood
63.3% – Other Biomass
NEAR-TERM GROWTH FORECASTS
U.S. Energy Information Administration
Renewable electricity generation in the electric power sector from biomass (i.e., wood + waste) will decrease from 26.7 terawatthours in 2021 to 22.0 terawatthours in 2024 and decline further to 21.6 terawatthours in 2025. Biomass will account for 2.27% of utility-scale renewable electricity generation this year, falling to 2.06% in 2025. Biomass accounted for 2.44% of renewable electricity generation in 2023.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Short-Term Energy Outlook” Table 7d. (April 9, 2024)
U.S. Energy Information Administration
Renewable energy electric generating capacity (by biomass wood + waste) in the electric power sector (i.e., power plants larger than 1-MW) will decrease from 6.1-GW at the end of 2021 to 5.2-GW at the end of 2024 but remain at approximately that level through the end of 2025.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Short-Term Energy Outlook” Table 7e. (April 9, 2024)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Additions of utility-scale biomass generating capacity between March 2024 and February 2027 could total 219-MW with 192-MW deemed “high probability additions”. However, these could be mostly offset by 167-MW in projected retirements. If this materializes, biomass’ share of total U.S. installed generating capacity could increase very slightly to 14,850-MW (i.e., 1.08% of total installed generating capacity).
The U.S. could sustainably triple its production of biomass to more than 1 billion tons per year and cover ~15% of future U.S. energy needs, including the power sector. Near-term resources can provide approximately 350 million tons per year of biomass above current uses, which would roughly double the current U.S. bioenergy economy
The U.S. generates biomass-powered energy from 153 biomass power plants across the country. In total, these biomass power plants have a capacity of 5123.2 MW.
According to the U.S. Energy & Employment Jobs Report (USEER), the U.S. biomass electrical power industry employs 12,976 people. The industry saw growth in 2018, adding 591 new biomass electric power jobs. There are an additional 29,245 jobs in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) for which the fuels are biomass and natural gas.
The levelized cost of energy for biopower is $170/MWh (2020$). This assumes a 50-MW plant and a 30-year cost recovery. Regional variations will likely ultimately impact biomass feedstock costs.
Pennsylvania plans to roll out a solar access plan with new federal grant
By Anya Litvak | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette April 23, 2024 | Full story
Pennsylvania’s goal to bring solar energy to low income and disadvantaged communities got a $156 million nod from the federal government this week. The plan is still being designed but is likely to start in the Philadelphia area and spread westward in the coming months and years.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced awards under its Solar for All program which were granted to states and large multi-state initiatives to bring solar access to residential households.
Solar for All webinar Monday, April 29, 2024, 4:00pm – 4:30pm ET
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, there were nearly 68,666 solar installations in Pennsylvania in the third quarter of last year. The vast majority of them are residential, rooftop arrays, but the most electricity that’s generated from solar comes from large, utility-scale projects. All the solar installed in the state is enough to power 195,365 homes. Full story
“The Solar for All award provides great potential to aid the development of community solar in Pennsylvania, which will benefit communities, workers, and the environment across the state. This opportunity to pair Solar for All funding with community solar is especially important when considering the equitable distribution of benefits to Pennsylvanians who do not have the ability to install rooftop solar panels.”
Sierra Club Pennsylvania Clean Energy Program Advocate Nate Reagle
Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority
$156,120,000
The Pennsylvania SFA Program will deploy and enable deployment of residential-serving solar, storage, and enabling upgrades in low-income and disadvantaged communities across Pennsylvania. The program will deliver meaningful benefits, such as household savings, quality jobs, and community ownership to rural, urban, and suburban communities; energy communities; and persistent poverty counties in Pennsylvania. It will also stimulate deployment of solar by strengthening the overall market for residential serving solar through an intentional balance of financial subsidies, program design, and project deployment services, such as community outreach and workforce development. Source
“Thanks to these investments from the Biden Administration, Pennsylvania will be able to build out reliable, sustainable, and affordable solar energy infrastructure, which will help low-income Pennsylvanians save money on their electric bills, while also reducing pollution in our communities.”
PA Governor Josh Shapiro
EPA:
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $7 Billion Solar for All Grants to Deliver Residential Solar, Saving Low-Income Americans $350 Million Annually and Advancing Environmental Justice Across America
EPA announces 60 selectees under Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant competition to deliver solar to more than 900,000 low-income and disadvantaged households nationwide through the President’s Investing in America agenda.
April 22, 2024 (Source) Contact Information: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)
Washington – Today, April 22, as the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced 60 selectees that will receive $7 billion in grant awards through the Solar for All grant competition to deliver residential solar projects to over 900,000 households nationwide. The grant competition is funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda through the Inflation Reduction Act, which created EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The 60 selections under the $7 billion Solar for All program will provide funds to states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and nonprofits across the country to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar, lowering energy costs for families, creating good-quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, advancing environmental justice and tackling climate change.
“Today we’re delivering on President Biden’s promise that no community is left behind by investing $7 billion in solar energy projects for over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The selectees will advance solar energy initiatives across the country, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, saving $8 billion in energy costs for families, delivering cleaner air, and combating climate change.”
“Solar is the cheapest form of electricity—and one of the best ways to lower energy costs for American families,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “Today’s announcement of EPA’s Solar for All awards will mean that low-income communities, and not just well-off communities, will feel the cost-saving benefits of solar thanks to this investment.”
“Residential solar electricity leads to reduced monthly utility bills, reduced levels of air pollution in neighborhoods, and ultimately healthier communities, but too often low-income and disadvantaged communities have been left out. Today’s announcement will invest billions to ensure that affordable housing across the U.S. can access solar and increase energy efficiency and climate resilience,” said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “HUD is honored to have played a key role in today’s monumental announcement, which will provide meaningful household savings to households in low-income and disadvantaged communities, reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs, and deliver electricity during grid outages for low-income households.”
“Sunlight is powering millions of homes across the nation, and we’re working hard to ensure Americans everywhere can benefit from this affordable clean energy resource,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “DOE is proud to work alongside our partners at EPA and across the Federal government to help communities access the limitless energy of the sun to light their homes and power their businesses.”
“The United States can and must lead the world in transforming our energy systems away from fossil fuels,” said U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT). “The Solar for All program – legislation that I successfully introduced – will not only combat the existential threat of climate change by making solar energy available to working class families, it will also substantially lower the electric bills of Americans and create thousands of good-paying jobs. This is a win for the environment, a win for consumers, and a win for the economy.”
EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will enable over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy. This $7 billion investment will generate over $350 million in annual savings on electric bills for overburdened households. The program will reduce 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions cumulatively, from over four gigawatts of solar energy capacity unlocked for low-income communities over five years. Solar and distributed energy resources help improve electric grid reliability and climate resilience, which is especially important in disadvantaged communities that have long been underserved.
Solar for All will deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to creating high-quality jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union for workers across the United States. This $7 billion investment in clean energy will generate an estimated 200,000 jobs across the country. All selected applicants intend to invest in local, clean energy workforce development programs to expand equitable pathways into family-sustaining jobs for the communities they are designed to serve. At least 35% of selected applicants have already engaged local or national unions, demonstrating how these programs will contribute to the foundation of a clean energy economy built on strong labor standards and inclusive economic opportunity for all American communities.
The Solar for All program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. All of the funds awarded through the Solar for All program will be invested in low-income and disadvantaged communities. The program will also help meet the President’s goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.
Solar for All will expand existing low-income solar programs and launch new ones. The 60 selected applicants will serve households in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and territories, as well as increase access to solar for Tribes. EPA has selected 49 state-level awards totaling approximately $5.5 billion, six awards to serve Tribes totaling over $500 million, and five multistate awards totaling approximately $1 billion. Solar for All will deploy residential solar for households nationwide by not only providing grants and low-cost financing to overcome financial barriers to deployment but also by providing services to communities to overcome other barriers such as siting, permitting, and interconnection. A complete list of the selected applicants can be found on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All website.
The 60 selected applicants have committed to delivering on the three objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: reducing climate and air pollution; delivering benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities; and mobilizing financing to spur additional deployment of affordable solar energy. Solar for All selected applicants are expanding existing low-income solar programs and launching new programs. In at least 25 states and territories nationwide, Solar for All is launching new programs where there has never been a substantial low-income solar program before. In these geographies, Solar for All selected applicants will open new markets for distributed solar by funding new programs that provide grants and low-cost financing for low-income, residential solar.
To date, many of the 60 selected Solar for All applicants have supported low-income and underserved communities in installing innovative residential solar projects. With this new funding, selectees can launch thousands more projects like these throughout every state and territory in the nation:
The threat of storms is a major reason Athens, Georgia resident Delmira Jennings and her husband John used selected applicant Capital Good Fund’s Georgia BRIGHT leasing program to install a 13-kilowatt solar and 10-kilowatt-hour battery system in February. “Last year, we spent two days without power after what seemed like a mini tornado,” Jennings said. After a recent outage, Jennings noted that she didn’t even know she lost power. “The batteries kicked in and all the power items we were using were on battery backup.”
Last year, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, whose successful pilot initiative served as the basis for selected applicant Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara (MHA) Nation’s Northern Plains Tribal Solar for All program, took major steps toward a clean energy future with the completion of the first phase of the White River Community Solar project. This project will deploy 15 solar systems at the homes of elders while piloting a groundbreaking approach to solar ownership and management that is intended to set an example for Tribes across the nation.
Through its existing Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program — a model for equitably providing solar to low-income renters in disadvantaged communities — selected applicant GRID Alternatives’ team in San Diego installed a solar energy system at Trolley Trestle, home to youth transitioning out of the foster care system. Energy cost savings estimated at over $600k over ten years, will be reinvested to provide additional services to those who call Trolley Trestle home, including more job and life skills training.
Review and Selection Process Information
The 60 applicants selected for funding were chosen through a competition review process. This multi-stage process included review from hundreds of experts in climate, power markets, environmental justice, labor, and consumer protection from EPA, Department of Energy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Treasury, Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Energy’s National Labs – all screened through ethics and conflict of interest checks and trained on the program requirements and evaluation criteria. Applications were scored and selected through dozens of review panels and an interagency senior review team.
EPA anticipates that awards to the selected applicants will be finalized in the summer of 2024, and selected applicants will begin funding projects through existing programs and begin expansive community outreach programs to launch new programs in the fall and winter of this year. Selections are contingent on the resolution of all administrative disputes related to the competitions.
Informational Webinars
EPA will host informational webinars as part of the program’s commitment to public transparency. EPA has scheduled a public webinar for the Solar for All program, and registration details are included below. Information on other GGRF webinars can be found on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Engagement Opportunities webpage.
“Solar for all program means 900,000 households will have solar on the rooftops for the first time and soon, millions of families will save over $400 a year on utility bills.”
President Joe Biden
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
Solar for All: Solar for Affordable Housing Highlights
Highlights from the $7 billion Solar for All selected applicants
Background: The Solar for All program is a $7 billion investment to enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from solar energy. The program is designed to deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollution, save American families money on their utility bills, create high-quality jobs, reduce costs and increase the climate resilience of affordable housing properties around the country. It will mobilize financing to deploy residential solar projects, dedicating 100% of the $7 billion in funding to low-income and disadvantaged communities, exceeding President Biden’s Justice40 commitment.
Each of the Solar for All selectees has developed a robust and thoughtful program. The plans highlighted below are a sampling of the strategies and approaches focused on affordable housing, and include proposals specifically targeted to overcoming unique challenges to deploying solar in federally supported housing. The plans are designed to provide meaningful household savings to households in low-income and disadvantaged communities, reduce energy costs and, when combined with battery storage, increase resilience for low-income households by delivering electricity during grid outages.
Please note the examples featured below, while not comprehensive or exhaustive, are intended to highlight key features of programs proposed and details may change as the programs are implemented.
Disclaimer: The summaries are based on information provided in the application packages that selected applicants submitted to EPA and that were reviewed and selected in accordance with the evaluation criteria in Section V.A: Evaluation Criteria of the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Note that EPA will work with the selected applicants to refine their application packages into detailed workplans that are subject to final approval from the EPA Award Official. Note that selections are contingent on resolution of all administrative disputes relating to the competition.
GRID Alternatives:
GRID Alternatives is a national nonprofit leader in helping economic and environmental justice communities nationwide access affordable renewable energy, transportation, and jobs. It recognizes the need to bring partners to the table with affordable housing at the center of their mission in order to truly distribute the benefits of distributed solar energy to residents in all communities. GRID Alternatives’ Solar Access for Nationwide Affordable Housing (SANAH) coalition will implement its GGRF-funded projects across the country. The coalition will draw on its key partners’ extensive experience deploying solar generation systems on affordable single-family and multi-family housing, including in traditionally challenging solar markets. These partners include several nationally-recognized housing-focused organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, NeighborWorks, National Housing Trust, Housing Partnership Network, Enterprise Community Partners and Loan Fund, National Equity Fund, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation as well as Rewiring America and World Resources Institute. GRID Alternatives’ program commits to offering technical assistance services for affordable housing providers that will address their unique and complex challenges. The program will support a range of third-party owned, direct install and community solar options in the affordable housing sector and takes advantage of virtual net metering and other solutions to maximize direct benefits to residents.
Hope Enterprise Corporation:
Hope Enterprise Corporation (HEC) is a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) with a decades-long track record of investing in affordable housing, schools, grocery stores, small businesses and other investments in low-income and disadvantaged communities in economically distressed areas of the South. Drawing on its strong partnerships with affordable housing developers in Arkansas and Mississippi, HEC plans to offer innovative low-cost financing for leased residential rooftop solar for low-income homeowners, as well as low-interest construction and permanent loans to owners of multi-family buildings tied to guaranteed energy savings for tenants. To ensure buildings receiving these low-cost financial products deliver meaningful benefits to residents, HEC plans to facilitate the creation of agreements that distribute energy and cost savings benefits (which would reduce bills at least 20%) between the building owners and residents.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality:
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), the state’s environmental agency, consulted a broad group of stakeholders including nonprofit housing developers to understand the most pressing barriers to solar deployment in the state in the development of their application. These consultations informed NCDEQ’s preliminary plans for a behind-the-meter solar installation program specifically for affordable multi-family and supportive housing owned and operated by nonprofit and public organizations, which will comprise about 21% of NCDEQ’s Solar for All funds. The program will be further refined in tandem with affordable housing stakeholders such as Mountain Housing Opportunities, DHIC, and Raleigh Housing Authority. NCDEQ also plans to provide technical assistance support to recipients of financial assistance while implementing accountability mechanisms to ensure that financial benefits flow to residents. This program will lay the groundwork and build internal capacity at these organizations to incorporate solar benefits into housing projects well into the future.
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources:
As part of its Massachusetts Coalition, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) brings together a proven team of energy and housing agencies, including the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the Boston Housing Authority and MassHousing, to implement solar for low-income and disadvantaged communities across the state. Of the Coalition’s five initiatives, two will focus on solar deployment in multifamily housing: the Solar on Public Housing Initiative (targeting state and federal public housing across the state) and the Solar on Affordable Housing Initiative (targeting regulated affordable housing such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties). Through the Solar for All program, the Coalition intends to provide the technical assistance, subsidies and financing needed to enable affordable public housing and multifamily property owners to overcome the capital and operating barriers to installing solar PV.
Tanana Chiefs Conference:
The Tanana Chiefs Conference will work closely with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Housing Finance Corporation, along with a wide range of partners in housing authorities, regional nonprofits, electric utilities, and more, to provide access to solar for every Tribal community in Alaska. A share of the program will be administered by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, which will fully subsidize solar projects benefiting qualifying Alaska Native households. These households will own the systems outright, receiving the self-sufficiency and cost savings benefits of solar ownership.
Vermont Department of Public Service:
The Vermont Department of Public Service is the state’s agency charged with representing the public interest in matters related to energy, telecommunications, water and wastewater. The Department will direct about one-third of its Solar for All award to its Managed Affordable Solar Housing Program, which will offer the benefits of rooftop solar to residents of permanently designated affordable housing. The Department will provide subsidies and low-interest loans alongside other housing and energy resources to developers and property owners of subsidized housing projects. By partnering with local affordable housing organizations using existing and trusted pathways, the Department will be able to deliver on-site solar to multi-family affordable rental housing more efficiently.
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation:
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is a public-private agency focused on advancing business development and innovation for Wisconsinites through loans, grants, tax credits, and technical assistance programs. WEDC plans to provide financial assistance to multi-family affordable housing building owners and developers via several types of funds, including credit-enhanced loans for owners of naturally occurring affordable housing, a revolving loan fund for subsidized affordable housing, and other grants (to be combined with loan products). Through its proposed Single Family Solar Pathway, WEDC will partner with nonprofits to deploy solar on affordable housing constructed or rehabilitated since 2000, as well as new affordable housing projects that will be constructed in the future. This pathway will provide grants to households below 60% of the area median income to cover the upfront costs of installing solar, which will deliver immense cost savings in the long run.
Together these seven selected applicants, along with the 53 other highly qualified selected applicants, will serve over 900,000 households in the next five years and help EPA deliver on the Biden Administration’s promise to reduce utility cost burdens, create job opportunities, and transition to a clean energy economy. Source
“Today is a historic day and a landmark achievement. [It] serves as a reminder of the power of organizing, of what we can accomplish when young people, climate advocates, labor organizers and working people come together to demand the future we all deserve.”
NY representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
Review and Selection Process for Solar for All
Following the evaluation for eligibility using the threshold eligibility criteria provided in Section III.C: Threshold Eligibility Criteria of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), reviewers from EPA, Department of Energy, Housing and Urban Affairs, Department of Treasury, Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy’s National Labs reviewed the Solar for All applications. Over 200 federal experts in climate, power markets, affordable housing, state energy policy, Tribal energy, environmental justice, labor, and consumer protection from across the interagency participated in the Solar for All review and selection process. These federal experts served on expert review panels; provided expert recommendations on selection and partial funding recommendations; and more.
Expert Review Panels: EPA designed and executed a process to incorporate the diverse set of expertise required to evaluate all applications. EPA created three expert review panels as part of the review and scoring process: a holistic review panel and two criteria-specific review panels focused on 1) distributed solar market strategies; and 2) financial assistance strategies. Therefore, each individual Solar for All application was reviewed in sections by a total of three panels.
Recommendations from a Senior Review Team and Final Selections: As a final robustness check, after the conclusion of the review process, EPA convened a multi-disciplinary Solar for All Senior Review Team to advise and provide a final set of recommendations to the Selection Officials, who were authorized to make selection and partial funding decisions. The Solar for All Senior Review Team was comprised of senior federal employees, primarily career employees, from EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy with relevant expertise in distributed energy, environmental justice, and clean energy deployment on Tribal lands. The Solar for All Senior Review Team met over the course of several weeks and to provide recommendations to the Selection Officials. The Selection Officials reviewed the Solar for All Senior Review Team’s recommendations before making selection and partial funding decisions that were consistent with the Solar for All Senior Review Team’s recommendations.
“Climate change is real, climate change through drought, floods, forest fires, heatwaves and extreme weather disturbances is already causing massive devastation for our country and the entire world. If anyone tells you climate change is a hoax, have them talk to farmers whose crop production is dwindling, have them talk to firefighters who risk their lives fighting fires with more severity and size than we’ve ever seen.”
PennDOT Opens Next Round of National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Funding May 13; April 30 Webinar on This Opportunity
By David E. Hess | PA Environment Digest Blog April 24, 2034 | Source
The state Department of Transportation will open the next round of funding (Round 1B) from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program on May 13. The deadline for applications will be July 10.
Amount of oil recovered per foot drilled in the Permian Basin of Texas, the main U.S. shale formation, fell 15% from 2020 to 2023
By Sabrina Valle | Reuters April 24, 2024 | Full story
Fracking, the extraction method that emerged in the mid-2000s, has become less efficient there. In the technique, water, sand and chemicals are injected at high pressure underground to release the trapped resources.
“Wells are getting worse and that is going to continue.”
Dane Gregoris, managing director at Enverus Intelligence Research firm
Two decades of drilling wells relatively close together, resulting in hundreds of thousands of wells, have interfered with underground pressure and made getting oil out of the ground more difficult.
Coal & New Gas Power Plants Will Have to Meet Climate Pollution Targets
Coal ash contains cancer-causing substances like arsenic and mercury that can leach into the ground, drinking water and nearby rivers and streams, harming people and killing fish. The waste is commonly stored in ponds near power plants. More
The Environmental Protection Agency finalized rules on Thursday to limit the pollution from power plants that drives climate change.
“EPA is finalizing four separate rules that reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants, protect communities from pollution and improve public health.”
Michael Regan, EPA administrator
Power plants are the second biggest source of planet-heating greenhouse gasses behind transportation, according to the EPA. Under the regulations, existing coal and new natural gas-fired power plants that run more than 40% of the time would have to eliminate 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions, the main driver of global warming. (Some power plants don’t run continuously and are brought online when electricity demand is high.)
“We are extremely disappointed in EPA’s decision to delay finalizing carbon pollution standards for existing gas plants, which make up a significant portion of carbon emissions in the power sector.”
Frank Sturges, a lawyer for the Clean Air Task Force
Existing coal power plants would have to meet that standard by 2032 if they plan to operate after 2039. The EPA is delaying a similar rule for existing natural gas-fired power plants, likely until after the November election, say environmentalists.
The former Mitchell Power Plant in western Pennsylvania Coal provided just over 16% of U.S. electricity in 2023, down from about 45% in 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Natural gas provided about 43% of U.S. electricity. The remainder comes from nuclear energy and renewables such as wind, solar and hydropower. More
Coal is largely composed of organic matter, but it is the inorganic matter in coal—minerals and trace elements—that have been cited as possible causes of health, environmental, and technological problems associated with the use of coal. Some trace elements in coal are naturally radioactive. These radioactive elements include uranium (U), thorium (Th), and their numerous decay products, including radium (Ra) and radon (Rn). Although these elements are less chemically toxic than other coal constituents such as arsenic, selenium, or mercury, questions have been raised concerning possible risk from radiation. In order to accurately address these questions and to predict the mobility of radioactive elements during the coal fuel-cycle, it is important to determine the concentration, distribution, and form of radioactive elements in coal and fly ash. MoreFossil gas ‘peaker plant’ in eastern Ohio
“Making a rule that applies only to coal, which is dying out on its own, and to new gas power plants that are not yet built, is not how we are going to reach climate safety.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island
New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; and Repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule (1,020-page PDF)
This document is a prepublication version, signed by EPA Administrator, Michael S. Regan on 4/24/2024. We have taken steps to ensure the accuracy of this version, but it is not the official version.
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing multiple actions under section 111 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units (EGUs).
First, the EPA is finalizing the repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule.
Second, the EPA is finalizing emission guidelines for GHG emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired steam generating EGUs, which include both coalfired and oil/gas-fired steam generating EGUs.
Third, the EPA is finalizing revisions to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for GHG emissions from new and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbine EGUs.
Fourth, the EPA is finalizing revisions to the NSPS for GHG emissions from fossil fuel-fired steam generating units that undertake a large modification, based upon the 8-year review required by the CAA.
The EPA is not finalizing emission guidelines for GHG emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbines at this time; instead, the EPA intends to take further action on the proposed emission guidelines at a later date.
Fracked gas production activities in western Pennsylvania
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