The power generating plant owned by Logansport Municipal Utilities was demolished last year. Under a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule, nitrogen dioxide budgets for fossil fuel-fired power plants in Indiana would be reduced beginning in 2023. File photo | CNHI News Indiana
Smog may be commonly thought of as an air pollution problem confined largely to big cities like Los Angeles, but environmental regulators contend it’s a continuing threat in the Midwest.
In February, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan signed a proposed implementation plan designed to ensure that 26 states — including Indiana — do not “significantly contribute to problems attaining and maintaining the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in downwind states.”
With Indiana and other nearby states gradually moving away from fossil fuels in both production and dependence, some question the necessity of new enforcement mechanisms like the transport rule, which is being revived under the Clean Air Act after years of abeyance during the Trump administration. But environmental advocates maintain that the rule is beneficial because it specifically addresses emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are involved in creating smog. Additionally, regulations vary from state to state.
The proposed r ule “acknowledges the regional impacts of air pollution and encourages crafting regional and national solutions,” said Tim Maloney, senior policy director for the Hoosier Environmental Council. “Other states that are experiencing the impacts of downwind pollution should have some remedy for the sources of pollution affecting them being addressed.”
Under the rule, which officials have published in the federal register and will accept public comments on through June 6, nitrogen dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants would be reduced by 20%, and from other industrial sources by 15%, according to the EPA.
In Indiana, nitrogen dioxide budgets for fossil fuel-fired power plants would be reduced beginning in 2023.
The renewed interest in the “good neighbor” rule comes as energy producers move to put the state more firmly on a path to what some analysts see as a future dependent on sustainable energy. Bloomington- based Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative plans to retire its coal-fired Merom Generating Station next year; and the parent company of AES Indiana, one of the state’s largest utilities, recently announced plans to go coal-free by 2025.
Those plans mirror a broader trend. Nationally, power plant operators plan to retire more than a quarter of their current coal-fired capacity by 2035, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“Indiana has more than its share of coal-fired power plants and many of them are aging as well,” said Rae Schnapp, conservation director for the Indiana Forest Alliance. “They’re grandfathered and don’t have the latest air pollution controls. This decision could really help make our power plants cleaner here.”
Still, fossil fuels remain the predominant source of energy in Indiana. In 2020, Indiana ranked third in the nation in total coal consumption and coal consumption for electricity generation, behind only Texas and Missouri. Coal fueled 53% of Indiana’s electricity net generation that year.
Maloney said the EPA’s announcement implies that some remaining coal-fired plants and fossil fuel producers may face additional federal scrutiny.
“I can’t say specifically how it might affect Indiana plants, just that it could affect them,” he said.
State lawmakers and environmental officials are taking a wait-and-see approach to the proposed rule, citing its complexity and scope — in addition to its nitrous oxide provisions, it addresses interstate transport of ozone — as factors that preclude them from speaking at length about it.
“It will take time to dissect the details and evaluate the implications specific to Indiana,” Barry Sneed, public information officer for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, said in an email. “Clearly, if implemented as proposed, the rule would result in air quality improvements in Indiana and reduce the impact that Indiana has on its neighboring states.”
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