Synergy Environmental, Inc.
Brink Young
August 22, 2018
On August 21st, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule to replace the Obama Administration’s signature climate change regulation. This new plan is designed to scrap the Clean Power Plan and replace it with the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule. This new rule will establish guidelines for states to use when developing plans to limit GHG’s at their power plants. The ACE Rule is intended to empower states, boost energy independence and aid economic growth and at the same time promoting job creation.
The proposal will work to reduce GHG emissions through four main actions:
1. ACE defines the “best system of emission reduction” (BSER) for existing power plants as on-site, heat-rate efficiency improvements;
2. ACE provides states with a list of “candidate technologies” that can be used to establish standards of performance and be incorporated into their state plans;
3. ACE updates the New Source Review (NSR) permitting program to further encourage efficiency improvements at existing power plants; and
4. ACE aligns regulations under CAA section 111(d) to give states adequate time and flexibility to develop their state plans.
The proposed ACE Rule is informed by more than 270,000 public comments that EPA received as part of its December 2017 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM).
EPA will take comment on the proposal for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register and will hold a public hearing. More information including a pre-publication version of the Federal Register notice and a fact sheet are available at https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/proposal-affordable-clean-energy-ace-rule
Brink Young is Vice President of Business Development at Synergy Environmental, Inc. He has over 28 years of experience in the fields of Environmental Contracting, Emergency Response, Risk Management and Environmental Consulting. He is based in Synergy’s Royersford, PA headquarters. He can be contacted at byoung@synergyenvinc.com.
