PGE's coal-fired power plant near Boardman, OR. Photo from Brian Pasko.
The campaign to shut down Oregon’s only coal-fired power plant by 2014 just got some big news.
The Department of Environmental Quality says it will recommend that the state reject PGE’s proposal to close the Boardman power plant by 2020, and take some additional time to study alternatives for an early shut down.
“We support an early shut down and we’re interested in exploring a range of options,” says Air Quality Administrator Andy Ginsburg. “Accepting PGE’s current petition would lock in only one approach as the starting point in a rule-making and we believe that additional options should considered before rule-making begins.”
That’s not the same thing as endorsing a 2014 closure. But it does put the possibility before DEQ in a very official way, and gives environmental groups a new opportunity to push for a shut down by 2014.
Originally, Boardman was supposed to keep operating until 2040. The plant is Oregon’s largest single source of greenhouse gases, the pollution that causes regional haze, and a major contributor to acid rain in the Columbia River Gorge.
But new EPA regulations on haze forced the state to take action. Last summer, DEQ adopted rules that would force PGE to reduce the plant’s nitrogen oxide emissions by 46 percent in 2011, reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 80 percent in 2014, and further reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from 46 to 84 percent in 2017.
Those pollution controls came with a hefty price tag – about $470 million. It turned out to be more than PGE was willing to pay. Earlier this year the utility said it would close Boardman by the end of 2020, in exchange for not having to spend all that money.
When the DEQ Commission meets June 17 in Lakeview, the staff will present its recommendation to deny PGE’s offer. That would be followed by a new round of rule-making, and then a new proposal for regional haze regulations.
During those six months, DEQ could change its mind and decide to support PGE’s 2020 closure date. But 2014 supporters will have several chances to make their case. The first chance comes at the June 17 meeting when the Commission will take comments from the public. If you can’t make it to the meeting in Lakeview, you can testify via teleconference from DEQ offices in Portland, Eugene, Bend, Medford, Pendleton and The Dalles.
As the rule-making progresses, there will be other public meetings held around the state.
For more information on the public comment process see…
Oregon DEQ: DEQ to Propose Denial of PGE’s Petition to Amend Regional Haze Rules
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