Peter Glaser

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The Decision.   On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded the D.C. Circuit’s 2012 decision that vacated EPA’s Cross-State Rule.  The decision was 6-2 with Justices Scalia and Thomas dissenting.  Justice Alito had recused himself from this case and therefore did not participate in the decision.

On April 15, 2014, one year and one day before the compliance deadline, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit fully upheld EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).  As a result, all existing coal- and oil-fired  electric utility units will be required to meet specific, numeric emission limits for mercury, particulate matter, and acid gases next year.

Troutman Sanders’ Partner Peter Glaser was quoted  in Greenwire’s recent article regarding Virginia state lawmakers’ attempt to limit the effect of forthcoming U.S. EPA carbon dioxide rules on their state’s utility sector. The Virginia Senate’s Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on January 29, 2014, on bill by GOP Sen. Charles Carrico that would direct state regulators to require utilities to adopt onlywidely deployed efficiency measures to complywith the federal rule.

The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it has granted petitions for certiorari in a case involving EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases. The Supreme Court will review the D.C. Circuit’s 2012 decision in Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA, in which a unanimous three-judge panel upheld EPA’s greenhouse gas endangerment finding, its motor vehicle greenhouse gas regulations, and the so-called Timing and Tailoring Rules that implement EPA’s greenhouse gas permitting program for stationary sources like utilities and other industrial facilities.

Las week EPA issued a new proposal to limit carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new coal-fueled and natural gas-fueled electric generating units.  The proposal replaces a proposal EPA had made last year.  For new coal-fueled units, including both coal boilers and integrated gasification combined cycle units, EPA proposed a standard of:

  • 1,100 lb CO2/MWh gross over a 12-operating month period, or
  • 1,000-1,050 lb CO2/MWh gross over an 84-operating month (7-year) period.