New EPA plan rolls back coal pollution regulations, could cause up to 1,400 premature deaths annually - Entrepreneur Generations

President Trump announced in West Virginia today the details of the newly signed Affordable Clean Energy rule, which replaces President Obama's Clean Power Plan. The plan gives states more power to achieve lower goals and, though it's a boon to the coal industry, may cause more health problems and deaths.

Under ACE, states have three years to develop their own plans to reduce emissions to federal target levels, which are much less ambitious than those in the CPP. It also allows states to establish emissions standards for coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency "estimates that the measure will affect more than 300 U.S. plants, providing companies with an incentive to keep coal plants in operation rather than replacing them with cleaner natural gas or renewable energy projects," Juliet Eilperin reports for The Washington Post.

"Trump administration officials say the Clean Power Plan, in its effort to reduce carbon emissions, illegally tried to force electric utilities to use greener energy sources," Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times. "The new plan, they said, would achieve many of the benefits sought by the Obama administration but in a way that is legal and allows states greater flexibility."

The EPA's own impact analysis acknowledges that the plan will cause emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants to increase. And by 2030, increased airborne particulate matter would most likely cause between 470 and 1,4000 premature deaths, 48,000 new cases of exacerbated asthma and at least 21,000 new missed days of school, Friedman reports. 

The premature mortality estimates come from a Harvard University study, but the EPA is considering a separate rule that would restrict the use of studies for which raw data (including identifying personal details) can't be published. Because the Harvard study and many others are based on confidential health records, the EPA would not have to use them and in future studies would be able to claim a far lower estimated number of premature deaths from the energy plan, Friedman reports.

The new plan is subject to a 60-day comment period before implementation.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2BuRdSU New EPA plan rolls back coal pollution regulations, could cause up to 1,400 premature deaths annually - Entrepreneur Generations

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