In the News

With the first of two new air pollution rules finalized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there’s no doubt that two power plants in Southwest Virginia will be affected.

But feelings vary widely on whether the change will ultimately help or hurt the region’s people, with the promise of cleaner air at the price of higher electric bills and lost jobs.

    “By putting people out of work and increasing electric bills, I believe the EPA is actually harming the people they claim to help with this rule,” said U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, in a written statement following EPA’s announcement.

    “There should be a balance between environmental protections and the need for jobs. Clearly, the EPA’s sense of balance is off.”

Griffith said the region won’t just lose jobs at the power plants themselves when they close. In a recession, he said, the resulting power rate increase of 10 to 15 percent in the region “will make it even harder for small businesses to keep the lights on and create jobs.”

According to EPA, the now-finalized Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which requires 27 states in the eastern U.S. to reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, will lead to measurable public health improvements.

    According to an agency statement, “[It] will protect communities that are home to 240 million Americans from smog and soot pollution, preventing up to 34,000 premature deaths, 15,000 nonfatal heart attacks, 19,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 400,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and 1.8 million sick days a year beginning in 2014 – achieving up to $280 billion in annual health benefits.”

In an e-mailed response to questions, EPA said the rule will prevent from 610 to 1,600 premature deaths annually in Virginia, translating to between $5.2 billion and $13 billion annually in benefits.

Todd Burns, spokesman for Appalachian Power, said closures at two power plants in the region, along with others in its system, are occurring primarily because of two new EPA rules: The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which as been finalized, and the Hazardous Air Pollutants Rule, which is expected to be.

The company has announced that, in response to these changes, the three units of its Glen Lyn power plant will be shut down, as will one unit at its Clinch River plant, where the remaining two units will be converted to run on natural gas.

System-wide, American Electric Power – Appalachian’s parent company – plans to retire close to 6,000 megawatts of coal-fired generation to comply with EPA rules, while doing a series of plant upgrades and gas conversions along with construction of natural gas-fired plants.

The company expects this to come with the net loss of about 600 power plant jobs with an annual payroll of $40 million. The expected capital investment of $6-8 billion must be passed on to ratepayers.

“The economic impact will extend far beyond direct employment at power plants as thousands of ancillary jobs are supported by every coal-fueled generating unit,” according to a written statement from AEP Chairman and CEO Mike Morris.

    “Businesses that have benefited from reasonably priced coal-fueled power will face the impact of electricity price increases ranging from 10 percent to more than 35 percent just for compliance with these environmental rules at a time when they are still trying to recover from the economic downturn.”

According to the EPA, “The effect on prices for specific regions or states may vary, but are well within the range of normal fluctuations that we regularly see in residential electricity and delivered natural gas prices.”

The EPA projects an increase of 1 percent in average retail electricity prices by 2014, with natural gas prices rising by less than 1 percent between next year and 2030.

The EPA further states that AEP’s power plant closure decisions, made before the rule was finalized, were made based on several factors, including their relative inefficiency, the economy and fuel prices, and therefore, “The attempt to tie decisions about these specific plants [to EPA rule-making] is not supported by any demonstrable study or analysis.”

According to EPA’s listing, the now-finalized rule affects 1,079 power plants in the eastern half of the United States.

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups have expressed support for the new emissions rule and related coal-fired power plant closures.

    In a statement from the Sierra Club, Executive Director Michael Brune said, “This long overdue and much-needed action will help communities clean up their air and save lives by curbing millions of tons of air pollution that travel downwind and across state lines each year.”

Nickolas Sifuentes, the Sierra Club’s press secretary for the northeastern United States, said that while economic impacts of environmental rules are considered, health impacts on the population should take priority.

    “Coal pollution is linked to four of the five leading causes of death in this country: heart disease, stroke, cancer and respiratory disease,” Sifuentes said. “If someone dies prematurely from exposure to pollution from these plants, you can’t get them back.”

While the cost of a higher electric bill is clearly visible every month, he said the impact on an individual’s health also adds up. And while it doesn’t come printed in black and white, the cost is no less real.

That’s a cost to everyone that environmental regulators hope to decrease, he said.

It's a sentiment appreciated in the area immediately around the half-century-old Clinch River plant in the remote Russell County community of Carbo,  where residents have long pointed anecdotally to high rates of cancer and respiratory illness in the surrounding communities.

Nora Walbourn, who can see the emissions stacks from her home, said the conversion and partial closure of the plant is a step in the right direction, though natural gas also comes with a set of troubling environmental issues.

    “The people in this area don’t want to see the loss of the jobs, but we want clean air at the same time,” she said. “Clean air is a priority... If you don’t have your health, you’re not going to work anywhere because you’re already dead.”

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