State Regulators Postpone Stakeholder Meetings On Greenhouse Gas Until June

A state Department of Environmental Quality official said this week that no additional stakeholders’ meetings will be held to decide how Arkansas will meet the president’s stringent air pollution guidelines until federal officials write final rules for the controversial regulations.

“While no additional stakeholders’ meetings have been planned at this time, we will have future meetings after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveils its final rule,” said Katherine Benenati, head of public outreach and Assistance Division Chief at ADEQ. “Once a rule is issued, we intend to reconvene the stakeholder group to evaluate any proposed changes to the rule and to provide input on if and how a state plan should be developed.”

According to the EPA’s timeline on President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, the EPA is supposed to submit final rules from the new regulations by June 2015. However, EPA officials are already behind on the first part of the president’s far-reaching climate plan that is to be completed by Jan. 8, 2015.

Those guidelines, which were first unveiled in April 2012 and deal mainly with greenhouse gas emissions at future power plants, have not yet been submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review, a process that usually takes two to three months.

ON ANOTHER FRONT
The second part and far-more controversial aspects of the president’s climate plan, which proposes a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants by 2030 from 2005 levels, were first unveiled in early June of this year.

To get ahead of the process, Gov. Mike Beebe then ordered ADEQ and the state Public Service Commission (PSC) to begin holding a series of public stakeholder meetings in May to allow groups on opposing sides to freely offer their views on the EPA’s pending regulations.

Altogether, four stakeholder meetings were held throughout the summer where the key arguments centered on the state’s fleet of coal-fired power plants, which supply 53 percent of the state’s electric generation. The last meeting was held on Oct. 1.

Duane Highley, president and CEO of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Corp., stated publicly that the EPA’s proposal should be delayed because it could shut down the state’s coal-powered power plants.

He also told the stakeholder panel in late August that the White Bluff Electric Power Plant in Jefferson County and possibly the Independence (County) Electric Station could close if the proposed rules don’t allow for some flexibility in handling coal-fired power.

In the midst of those meetings in September, the EPA extended the public comment period on controversial regulations by an additional 45 days, from Oct. 16 to Dec. 1.

But just before the December deadline expired, Arkansas regulators sent a letter to the EPA on Nov. 26 saying the proposed rule would give Arkansas “one of the most stringent goals in the country for reducing the rate of carbon emissions from its electric generating units.” The letter was written and signed by ADEQ interim director J. Ryan Benefield and PSC Chairman Colette Honorable,

“ADEQ and (Arkansas Public Service Commission) submitted joint comments encouraging significant changes to the EPA proposal,” Benenati told Talk Business & Politics. “Most notably we commented that the Arkansas state goal is technically flawed and unattainable under the contemplated timeframe.”

Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson took an even stronger stance in a letter he sent to EPA administrator Gina McCarthy on the last day for public comments. He urged the Obama administration to altogether withdraw the proposal until the federal government has time to answer concerns about the increased costs from the loss of coal-fired electric generation and objections that the EPA had “overstepped its legal authority.”

Outgoing Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who leaves office in January, took a similar position. He asked the EPA to either withdraw or amend the proposed regulations “to reduce the enormously disproportionate adverse impact on Arkansas.”

If the June deadline for the EPA’s final rule is not extended, the power plan that Arkansas regulators eventually submit to the EPA may largely depend on Hutchinson, who has yet to name a new chief at ADEQ. Benefield is serving as interim director of the ADEQ after longtime director Teresa Marks stepped down from her post on Nov. 1.

SUPPORTERS ASK HUTCHINSON TO CONTINUE DIALOGUE
Still, proponents of the EPA’s carbon emission rules are holding out for chance to convince the new administration to keep options open, given that Hutchinson has already stated publicly that he sides with opponents who hope the new Republican Congress will take steps to kill the federal mandate.

“(We) would welcome the chance to work with our new Governor to bring thousands of good-paying jobs to Arkansas in the energy efficiency and renewable energy fields — implementing the Clean Power Plan is a great way to do that,” said Glen Hooks, director of the Arkansas Sierra Club. It’s disappointing to hear that Governor-elect Hutchinson is opposed to this positive economic and environmental policy. I look forward to the chance to meet with the new administration and explain how the Clean Power Plan means great things for our state.”

Officials at the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) also said they hope Gov.-elect Hutchinson keeps an open mind on the Obama administration’s vetting process, which gives Arkansas and other states the flexibility to choose a power plan that’s tailored to fit the needs of local consumers and industry.

“The EPA has received millions of comments, including those from the Governor-elect, our state regulatory agencies and the comments submitted by AAEA. Clearly this is an issue on which reasonable people will disagree,” the group said in a statement. “While we may differ with Governor-elect Hutchinson on the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions …, we still believe it’s in the state’s best interests to continue the stakeholder process and make preparations to respond to the final rule that will be published in June, 2015.”