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 The
Tennessee Valley Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency share
the goal of reducing fossil-plant emissions. In early 1999, TVA began
working with the EPA to develop a cost-effective solution that yields
the largest pollution reduction for the investment.
TVA complies with all requirements of the Clean Air Act. It also routinely
maintains its generating plants to maximize their efficiency and improve
their performance—a practice that supports system reliability and
helps keep electricity costs as low as possible. But recently the EPA
began viewing this routine maintenance as creating a “new source”
of emissions. The EPA’s contention is that such “new sources”
must meet the more stringent pollution-control standards applied to
newly built generating facilities. This change reflects a dramatic shift
in the way the EPA has interpreted these regulations for the past 20
years.
The EPA now claims that 80 to 90 percent of the utility industry is
in violation of its pollution-control requirements and it issued an
administrative order against TVA claiming that TVA was in violation
of the Clean Air Act’s new source review program. This new interpretation
of an old rule could threaten the region’s power supply and impact
the cost of power to TVA customers. Unfortunately, after almost a year
of efforts to resolve the EPA’s concerns, TVA and the EPA were
unable to reach a resolution. To protect the interest of its customers,
TVA has petitioned the court to review and stay the administrative order.
TVA must be able to continue to maintain its plants while supplying
low-cost, reliable power.
While TVA believes that it must continue to reduce emissions, the agency
is focusing its resources where they will produce the most substantial
environmental improvements. For example, TVA is implementing a plan
to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions during the ozone season by 70 to
75 percent at a cost of $750 million to $800 million. (For more information
about TVA’s air emissions, see the
related story in this report.)
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