Illinois Coal Plants Dodge Tougher Pollution Rules

Oct 01 - Chicago Tribune

Oct. 1--Operators of coal-fired power plants in Illinois dodged tougher limits on air pollution after the Blagojevich administration agreed with industry groups that a state campaign against the oldest and dirtiest generators could drive up the cost of electricity.

As recently as a week ago, a top official at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said the state was likely to recommend rules that would curb emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants, boost the state's battered coal industry and keep electricity rates stable.

But in a report Thursday to Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the General Assembly, the EPA concluded that making state regulations stricter than standards proposed by the federal government would be "irresponsible."

The agency said there are too many questions about whether regulations applying only to Illinois would improve air quality. Standards that go beyond what the federal government requires could drive up electric rates and make the state's power supply less reliable, the EPA report concluded.

A spokeswoman said Blagojevich, who as a candidate vowed to force power plants to clean up and to use more Illinois coal, agreed with the report's findings.

"We need more stringent regulations that are part of a comprehensive national strategy," said EPA Director Renee Cipriano, who earlier this year raised the possibility that Illinois would act before new federal regulations take effect.

Environmental activists said they were disappointed with the apparent change of plan.

"The Blagojevich administration took the industry's talking points and put their name on it," said Rebecca Stanfield, staff attorney for the Illinois Public Interest Research Group. "You expect this from the Bush administration, not this governor."

Dave Kolaz, chief of the EPA's air bureau, said last week that he was confident the agency would recommend "significant reductions" of mercury and pollutants that cause acid rain and smog. "We can do it if we do it right," he said at the time.

But industry groups lobbied the EPA to abandon state-only pollution rules. They found an ally in the Illinois Commerce Commission, the state's rate-setting agency, which argued that requiring utilities to upgrade their aging coal burners with expensive pollution controls could make them less competitive in a deregulated market where power is traded among states.

"The issue is not whether the plants will get cleaner--they will--but whether Illinois becomes a net importer of electricity," said Doug McFarlan, spokesman for Chicago-based Midwest Generation LLC, which owns two of the eight most-polluting coal plants in Illinois. "That raises concerns about reliability and costs."

Business interests made similar arguments a decade ago when Congress made the Clean Air Act tougher.

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