Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is vowing to ease a 2016 pollution control mandate approved by the Obama administration for two of Utah’s oldest coal power plants.
Pruitt made the announcement Tuesday while in Salt Lake City to meet with Republican Gov. Gary Herbert, according to the Associated Press.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Pruitt hand-delivered a letter to the governor outlining his intention to re-examine the emission controls for the coal plants, but that the governor’s office would not discuss it.
Pruitt did not take questions about the plan during a hasty press conference with reporters after the meeting, according to the newspaper. Alan Matheson, executive director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, discussed the letter with reporters after Pruitt left the state capital.
Matheson said the EPA decision was based on older modeling scenarios and that a fresh look could deliver different results.
The Obama-era emissions plan required the two plants to install expensive equipment to cut nitrogen oxide pollution to reduce the haze experienced at nearby national parks, such as Arches and Canyonlands. The restrictions were meant to comply with the Obama EPA’s Regional Haze regulation. The haze regulations have been a particular problem for power plants in the West.
The Trump administration is looking to help the broader coal industry, which includes mining and coal-fired power plants. Coal power plants have been under increased economic pressure, with many forced to close from increased competition from natural gas and to some extent increased regulation. President Trump has taken executive action to roll back regulations that would shutter coal plants, but it is up to Pruitt to implement those directives.
Environmental groups support the controls on the Utah plants, but the state and the utility that owns them have sued the EPA to rescind the plan.
The utility argues that the pollution controls would add $700 million to customers’ electric bills.
The state argues that a separate plan it proposed would reduce regional haze without the power plant emission controls.
Pruitt said he wants Utah to have a voice in the decision and will give the state more time to study the issue before enforcing the Obama-era plan, according to AP.
