The country’s most polluted coal burning power plant has called on President Trump to exempt it from stricter restrictions on dangerous air pollution after the administration recently invited businesses to apply for presidential pollution exemptions via email.
Aging Corstrip power plants in Corstrip, Montana release more harmful particulate matter contamination or soot than any other power plant in the country, the Environmental Protection Agency. The diagram is shown. The new rules adopted by the Biden administration in 2023 would have forced facilities to install new equipment because they lack modern pollution prevention, the country’s only coal plant.
The Colstrip Factory is currently applying for a two-year exemption from these rules, according to the Montana Legislature delegation that backed the request.
The new pollution standards “have at stake the economic viability of plants that will damage the local electrical grid if closed,” Sen. Steve Daines and other members of the delegation wrote in a letter sent Monday to EPA administrator Lee Zeldin. “Without the corstrip, consumers will bear a burden of higher energy costs and grid reliability, and their closure will hinder economic development in the region.”
Health experts pointed out that the letter does not address the health effects of fine contaminated particles. Many studies have shown that particles penetrate deep into the lungs and are small enough to enter the bloodstream, where they migrate to the heart and other organs, increasing mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
A 2023 study showed that it emits coal-fired power plants, particularly fine particles containing sulfur dioxide. Related to higher mortality rates More than other types of pollution.
The contamination “can be extremely harmful, especially for young children with lung disease,” said Robert Merchant, a pulmonary surgeon at Billings, Mont. He said the delegation’s letters showed “complete indifference to health.”
Colstrip Plant’s stricter pollution rules exemption came after the EPA last month told businesses that they could apply for exemptions from key clean air rules by sending emails to agents. The EPA pointed to some of the Clean Air Act, which allows the president to temporarily exempt industrial facilities from the new rules if the technology necessary to meet these rules is not available, and if it is for national security.
The Trump administration has also announced its intention to roll back many of the rules completely. This could mean that plants like Corstrips ultimately do not need to meet new contamination standards.
The move was part of Zeldin’s broad efforts to guide energy and cars from its original role in environmental protection and regulation to make them more affordable.
Northwestern Energy Group and Talen Energy, which operate the factory along with other minority owners, did not immediately respond to comments.
The exemption granted by the Trump administration could face legal challenges from environmental groups. In creating the new rules, the Biden administration had identified already available technologies that would allow corstrip facilities to meet more stringent standards.
The Biden administration also estimated that new pollution prevention technology would cost much less for installations than the $500 million that the Corstrip factory said it would cost.
“These technologies are available,” said Amanda Levin, director of Policy Analysis for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.
Source: www.nytimes.com
