The
Clean
Energy
Group

July 10, 2018
The Honorable William L. Wehrum
Assistant Administrator
Office of Air and Radiation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Dear Assistant Administrator Wehrum:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) has indicated to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit its intent to address the Agency’s Final
Supplemental Finding for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) in which EPA
determined that it was appropriate and necessary to regulate coal- and oil-based power plants
under Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112 (Supplemental Finding). 81 Fed. Reg. 24,419 (Apr. 25,
2016). EPA’s supplemental finding followed the Supreme Court’s decision in Michigan v. EPA,
which held that EPA must consider costs in evaluating whether it is appropriate and necessary to
regulate.1
Driven by several factors—including customer demands, technology developments, and federal
and state regulatory obligations—the electric power sector is undergoing a transition of its
electric generating fleet that will continue over the next decade and beyond. Concurrent with this
transition, electric companies, public power utilities, and electric cooperatives are making
significant investments to make the energy grid smarter, cleaner, more dynamic, more flexible,
and more secure in order to integrate and deliver a balanced mix of central and distributed energy
resources.
Since the MATS rule became effective in 2012, it is estimated that the owners and operators of
coal- and oil-based electric generating units (EGUs or units) have spent more than $18 billion to
1

Litigation following EPA’s supplemental finding is being held in abeyance at the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
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 comply. These investments, parallel state requirements, other CAA programs, and nonenvironmental drivers have reduced mercury emissions by nearly 90 percent over the past
decade. Given this investment and these emissions reductions, regulatory and business certainty
regarding regulation under CAA section 112 is critical—many of these same units are part of
ongoing rate reviews regarding the generating fleet operated by investor-owned electric
companies. In the case of public power utilities and rural electric cooperatives (even those that
are rate regulated by state commissions), compliance costs are directly borne by their customers.
To provide this certainty, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power
Association (APPA), and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the
Clean Energy Group (CEG), the Class of ‘85 Regulatory Response Group, the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers,
Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers ask EPA to complete the statutorily
mandated Residual Risk and Technology Review (RTR)2 for power plants as expeditiously as
possible. We believe a complete and robust RTR will recognize the capital investments already
made for compliance and will allow the industry to continue full implementation of the MATS
rule, which was completed in April 2016.
It is important to note that all covered plants have implemented the regulation and that pollution
controls—where needed—are installed and operating. In traditionally regulated jurisdictions,
state public utility commissions in many cases still are in the process of reviewing the cost of
these controls for inclusion in rates, along with the related and ongoing operation and
maintenance costs. Units that retired in part due to MATS—along with other regulatory
requirements, low natural gas prices, resource planning initiatives, and a variety of other
factors—have been decommissioned and cannot be reinstated. The U.S. Energy Information
Administration reports that facilities representing 87.4 gigawatts (GW), or 29 percent of 2014
coal capacity, added pollution control equipment to comply with the MATS rule.3 As noted
above, the industry already has invested significant capital—estimated at more than $18
billion—in addition to these operating costs, and states are relying on the operation of these
controls for their air quality plans.
Therefore, we urge EPA to move forward with an RTR for power plants under CAA section 112
and to leave the underlying MATS rule in place and effective. We also urge EPA to consider
potential technical revisions to MATS—such as considering whether performance tests could be
performed less frequently if units are running less frequently—while still ensuring that the
standards are being achieved. We believe this approach can provide the regulatory and business
2

See CAA sections 112(d)(6) and (f)(2), which require that EPA complete the RTR by April 16,
2020.
3

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Coal plants installed mercury controls to meet
compliance deadlines (Sept. 18, 2017), https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=32952.
This period encompasses the time during which most coal-based generators installed pollution
controls at EGUs to comply with the MATS rule’s April 2015 compliance date and the one-year
extension that many coal plants received to finalize their compliance strategies. By April 2016,
virtually all coal- and oil-based generators completed their pollution control retrofits.
2

 certainty our members need as they continue to provide safe, reliable, affordable, and
increasingly clean energy to their customers.
Sincerely,
The Edison Electric Institute
The American Public Power Association
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
The Clean Energy Group
The Class of ‘85 Regulatory Response Group
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers &
Helpers

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The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned
electric companies. Our members provide electricity for about 220 million Americans, and
operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry
supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our
U.S. members, EEI has more than 60 international electric companies, with operations in more
than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related
organizations as Associate Members.
The American Public Power Association (APPA) is the national service organization
representing the interests of over 2,000 community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities. These
utilities include state public power agencies, municipal electric utilities, and special utility
districts that provide low-cost, reliable electricity and other services to over 49 million
Americans.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is the national service
organization for more than 900 not-for-profit electric utilities that provide electricity service to
approximately 42 million consumers. NRECA members own and maintain 2.6 million miles, or
42 percent, of the nation’s electric distribution lines and account for 11 percent of the total
kilowatt-hours in the U.S. each year. With a commitment to contribute to the vitality and
prosperity of the communities served by our members, electric cooperatives are dedicated to a
healthy environment, building vibrant rural communities, and providing reliable and affordable
electricity to our cooperative consumer.
The Clean Energy Group (CEG) is a coalition of electric generating and electric distribution
companies that share a commitment to responsible environmental stewardship. The mission of
CEG is to support and enhance the efforts of its members in understanding state and federal
legislative, regulatory, and policy developments in environmental and energy areas.
The Class of ’85 Regulatory Response Group is a voluntary ad hoc coalition of approximately 30
electric generating companies from around the country that has been actively involved in the
development of Clean Air Act rules affecting the electric generating industry for over 28 years.
The Class of ’85 has written comments on all major stationary source regulations since the early
1990s, and members of the Class of ’85 own and operate EGUs in approximately 35 states
throughout the United States.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) represents approximately 775,000
members and retirees who work in a wide variety of fields, including construction, utilities,
manufacturing, telecommunications, broadcasting, railroads and government.
Established in 1880, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders,
Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers is a diverse union representing workers throughout the United
States and Canada who are employed in industrial construction, maintenance and repair; ship
building; manufacturing; railroads; cement; mining and related industries.

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