The North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Bill (SB 10780), after passing the Senate 43-5, is pending in the state House Public Utilities Committee due to opposition by some industries to the cost recovery provisions of the legislation. This bill is an attempt to dramatically reduce nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury emissions from 14 grandfathered coal burning power plants owned by utility companies in North Carolina. Emissions from similar plants outside our state borders are responsible for about half the air pollution in our state and have an even more dramatic effect in the western mountains where rates of asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and other pulmonary diseases have been skyrocketing.
The main purpose of SB 1078, therefore, is to set an example for other states to follow in regulating coal burning power plants. It would give us legal and moral standing to demand that our neighbors stop polluting our air.

But with SB 1078 stuck in committee and the legislative session winding down, a compromise has been floated in an attempt to move the bill. It’s no secret that members of the health and environmental community have been uneasy with the current compromise on the Clean Smokestacks Bill being proposed by the governor’s office and key members of the state legislature. Even groups who have resigned themselves to lending public support to the compromise acknowledge that further gains will have to be won in the future to experience significant health benefits.

Until now there have been mainly two controversial issues in the re-worked bill. The first is the weakening of the nitrogen oxide (NOx) standard. The original bill caps NOx emissions at 56,000 tons annually, or a 78-percent reduction from 1998 levels. The compromise caps NOx emissions at 70,000, a 72-percent reduction. This is significant because the generally accepted scientific threshold for having a meaningful impact on ground-level ozone production is an 80-percent reduction in NOx in this geographical region. The 72-percent proposal falls far short of this goal.

The second issue is the division of the bill into two phases for the reduction of sulfur dioxide (SOx). The implementation of the second phase would be subject to the discretion of the Secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR). Although the ultimate goal in the bill is a 73-percent reduction of SOx, it’s doubtful this would ever be achieved. DENR has been notorious for favoring industrial interests over public opinion on air quality issues. The utility industry will undoubtedly oppose the second phase of SOx reductions. This means the compromise effectively cuts out one-third of the SOx reductions in the original bill passed by the Senate.

Now, it turns out, we may be compromising much more than was first believed. New language has been added to the compromise legislation that singles out the annual NOx emission cap, mandating these reductions be “actual” emission reductions. This is referring to the practice of trading pollution credits, allowed by federal regulations in lieu of “actual” reductions. According to federal policy, if a power plant in California is meeting or exceeding federal pollution standards, it can sell pollution credits to a plant in North Carolina that is not meeting pollution standards. This enables the North Carolina utilities to meet federal regulations and continue to operate its power plants without actually cleaning them up.
By singling out the annual NOx emission cap for “actual” reductions, the compromise specifically and intentionally omits the same requirements for summertime ozone season NOx which comes under the federal code in the state Implementation Plan.

In other words, during the worst period of the year for smog, the Clean Smokestacks Act would permit trading of NOx pollution credits in lieu of “actual” reductions.

Furthermore, there is no similar mandate for “actual” reductions of SOx written into the bill. This leaves open for interpretation wheth-er utilities could trade SOx pollution credits in lieu of “actual” reductions. Specific methods of achieving SOx reductions are not mentioned in the legislation. The only guideline is that reductions must be achieved in compliance with federal code. Trading is one method of achieving SOx reductions in compliance with federal code. If this ambiguity is included in the final compromise, there is no substantive gain here. This is a hollow piece of legislation.

One more thing worth mentioning about the compromise is that it doesn’t address the problem that prevented the bill from moving forward in the House in the first place. The issue was never the emission reductions. At all the hearings held by the Public Utilities Committee, all parties involved — industries, health and environmental groups and legislators  agreed that the standards in the original bill were valid. The only issue was cost recovery. Who should pay for this?

Polls showed residential consumers were willing to pay their share in exchange for clean air. But, high energy consuming industry objected to the fact that utilities were able to pass on the entire cost to consumers. This is the issue that was never tackled. This is where the governor and legislators have failed. Rather than showing leadership by standing up to industry and forcing a compromise on cost recovery, the lungs of our children are being compromised — if we let it happen.

Because of these considerations, the Canary Coalition, the only regional grassroots organization devoted solely to air quality issues, will not line up to give its stamp of approval to the compromise being proposed. This compromise sets a poor example for other states to follow and undermines North Carolina's ability to compel cleanups elsewhere in the region. The Canary Coalition remains committed to building public support for the original Clean Smokestacks Bill that passed in the Senate overwhelmingly last April. North Carolinians should demand of their leaders no less than “actual” leadership.

(Friedman is executive director of the Canary Coalition.)

 

Back to Top
The Smoky Mountain News