The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has filed two petitions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seeking air pollution reduction from a Pennsylvania steam-electric station and large, on-road diesel trucks.
In the petitions, DEEP asks EPA to:
- Require the Brunner Island Steam Electric Station in York County, Pa., to reduce air pollution generated from its three coal-fired electric generating units.
- Set stricter limits on emissions from large on-road diesel trucks that travel through Connecticut.
DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee said Connecticut has the Northeast’s highest ozone levels. He said air pollution transported into Connecticut from upwind sources and emissions from diesel-powered trucks are beyond the state’s jurisdiction and the petitions are part of its ongoing effort to have EPA address these sources.
In the DEEP petition to EPA, DEEP asks for an abatement emissions from the three coal-fired units in York County, Pa., because they significantly contribute to ozone levels that exceed the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard in Connecticut.
According to a DEEP statement, granting the petition would require Brunner Island to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, a precursor pollutant of ozone, so that the plant no longer emits an amount that contributes to excessive ozone in Connecticut.
The Brunner Island Steam Electric Station owned by Talen Energy is a coal-fired electricity generating facility located on the Susquehanna River. The plant has three major boiler units with a combined capacity of over 1,500 MW that together emitted about 11,000 tons of NOx in 2014. By comparison, Connecticut’s largest power plant emitted less than 600 tons in 2014, and the total NOx emissions from all sources combined in Connecticut was 8,800 tons.
Connecticut joined in a petition with 10 other state and local environmental agencies from across the nation asking EPA to set stricter air pollution engine limits for large on-road diesel trucks traveling through the state. Because trucks often operate across multiple state borders, and are typically registered outside of Connecticut, the state has limited authority to control their pollution, DEEP said. Under federal law, only California and EPA can set engine standards, and only EPA can adopt standards that apply nationally.
Heavy-duty highway trucks are one of the largest source groups contributing to poor air quality in Connecticut, and account for about 12.5 percent of statewide emissions of nitrogen oxides, according to a recent state air pollutant emissions inventory.
DEEP said a 90 percent reduction in diesel engine emissions is achievable through current technology, and is cost-effective at about $500-$1,000 per engine control system. It deems it a small cost relative to the price of a truck. A new 18-wheeler truck cab can sell for $130,000 to $260,000, with the trailer costing an additional $30,000 to $80,000.
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