The West Virginia Coal Association has joined an alliance of state coal, manufacturing and energy associations, as well as state chambers of commerce in petitioning for a judicial review of recent actions by the EPA related to mercury standards at steam electrical generation facilities. The petition challenges the rule filed by the EPA on February 16.
This rule sets a standard that is impossible to meet by new coal-fired power plants and it will force the short-term shutdown of many of the existing coal-fired generation facilities,
The WVCA, the Kentucky Coal Association, the Pennsylvania Coal Association, the Virginia Coal Association and the Indiana Coal Council are joined by the West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia chambers of commerce as well as several other industry organizations in filing the petition for a judicial review of the final action of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) under the Clean Air Act entitled “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel-Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-
The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A decision is expected sometime in late-2012 or early 2013.