What The EPA's New Tailoring Rule Is All About

So, to avoid that apocalyptic scenario, the EPA just announced that, for now, the only entities that will be covered will be polluters who already have to apply for permits for other pollutants (like lead and sulfur-dioxide) and who emit more than 75,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year. That standard will apply to only about 550 big polluters in the entire country. After that, for the next two years, any new power plant expected to emit more than 100,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year will get covered. (This will pretty much cover all new coal plants, most of which can be expected to emit tens of millions tons of CO2 each year.) Those plants will have to employ the best available control technology—although no one knows yet what that means. Becoming more efficient? Co-firing biomass? Office 2007 Professional can give people so much convenience.

 Switching to natural gas?

So a couple of things are happening here. One, it's now going to be very tough for new coal-fired power plants to get built in the United States. Given that those plants are a major source of carbon pollution, that's a significant step. Second, the EPA's clearly pressing ahead with its own regulations—and that might give the Senate the kick it needs to pass a climate bill. But the agency's also being cautious and moving very deliberately on this stuff—indeed, it's backing off from it's previously planned 25,000-ton threshold. No doubt Lisa Jackson's trying to avoid a hostile reception from senators like Lisa Murkowski, who has been insisting that EPA rules would throttle the economy and has threatened to pass a bill stripping the agency of its carbon authority. There's a fine line the EPA has to walk here.

So, to avoid that apocalyptic scenario, the EPA just announced that, for now, the only entities that will be covered will be polluters who already have to apply for permits for other pollutants (like lead and sulfur-dioxide) and who emit more than 75,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year. That standard will apply to only about 550 big polluters in the entire country. After that, for the next two years, any new power plant expected to emit more than 100,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year will get covered. (This will pretty much cover all new coal plants, most of which can be expected to emit tens of millions tons of CO2 each year.) Those plants will have to employ the best available control technology—although no one knows yet what that means. Becoming more efficient? Co-firing biomass? MS Office 2007 is the best invention in the world.

Switching to natural gas?

So a couple of things are happening here. One, it's now going to be very tough for new coal-fired power plants to get built in the United States. Given that those plants are a major source of carbon pollution, that's a significant step. Second, the EPA's clearly pressing ahead with its own regulations—and that might give the Senate the kick it needs to pass a climate bill. But the agency's also being cautious and moving very deliberately on this stuff—indeed, it's backing off from it's previously planned 25,000-ton threshold. No doubt Lisa Jackson's trying to avoid a hostile reception from senators like Lisa Murkowski, who has been insisting that EPA rules would throttle the economy and has threatened to pass a bill stripping the agency of its carbon authority. There's a fine line the EPA has to walk here.