The Department of Environmental Protection Wednesday submitted formal comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its plan to replace the current Clean Power Plant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants.
DEP concluded in its comments EPA has a legal obligation to regulation greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2007. As a result, DEP said it is obligated to propose a meaningful replacement for the 2015 Clean Power Plan.
DEP said it estimates emissions under the replacement plan would be 63 percent higher-- 920 million short tons-- than under the Clean Power Plan.
As a result, DEP said the replacement plan does not a “meaningful replacement for the CPP; therefore, it must be withdrawn.”
PA Met 2030 Target Already
The comments note, “The need for energy is one of the primary drivers of GHG emissions, and Pennsylvania is the third largest emitter of CO2 in the country.
“Nevertheless, Pennsylvania has made significant strides in the past few years to reduce GHG emissions.
“For instance, the 2014 CO2 emissions from existing Pennsylvania electric generating facilities, intended to be regulated under the CPP, were 106,967,641 tons.
“In 2015, CO2 emissions decreased to 96,266,428 tons, and in 2016 decreased again to 87,613,794 tons.
“Accounting for emissions from new EGU sources, the 2016 total for CO2 emissions was 89,467,892 tons.
“Thus, Pennsylvania has already exceeded its 2030 CPP goal of 89,822,308 tons through a combination of market-driven techniques like fuel switching and renewable energy standards while maintaining its status as a net energy exporter.
“In Pennsylvania, implementation of the CPP would have proven to be a cost-effective way to continue to reduce carbon pollution without sacrificing electric grid reliability. Therefore, EPA should retain and implement the CPP to continue the industry trend and combat climate change.”
DEP offered a variety of other specific comments on the proposal.
Click Here for a copy of the comments.
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