[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1910 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1910

To establish minimum nationwide nitrogen oxide pollution standards for 
                fossil-fuel fired electric powerplants.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 17, 1997

  Ms. Carson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish minimum nationwide nitrogen oxide pollution standards for 
                fossil-fuel fired electric powerplants.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Electric Utility Nitrogen Oxide 
Limitation Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Near term reductions in nitrogen oxides is an important 
        factor in meeting or exceeding our Nation's ambient air quality 
        standards for ozone.
            (2) Airborne nitrogen oxide pollution often migrates across 
        State boundaries.
            (3) Different electric utility powerplants have different 
        nitrogen oxide emission limits, based on the type, age, and 
        location of the plant.
            (4) The onset of competition in electric power markets can 
        increase demand for power from some sources, and reduce or 
        eliminate demand from other sources, thereby significantly 
        changing nitrogen oxide concentrations.
            (5) The current system of control of nitrogen oxide 
        emissions, when overlaid with the onset of competition among 
        electric power sources, may have the unintended effect of 
        encouraging power production from plants with higher nitrogen 
        oxide limits and discouraging improvements in nitrogen oxide 
        controls.

SEC. 3. ELECTRIC UTILITY NOX POLLUTION LIMIT.

    It shall be unlawful for any fossil-fuel fired utility unit with a 
nameplate capacity of greater than 25 megawatts of electrical output to 
emit nitrogen oxides in excess of a maximum allowable emission standard 
of 0.35 pounds per million Btu.

SEC. 4. WITHIN-STATE EMISSIONS AVERAGING.

    In lieu of complying with section 3, the owner or operator of 2 or 
more electric utility units within a single State that are covered by 
section 3 may elect to use alternative contemporaneous annual emission 
limitations for those units that ensure that the actual annual emission 
rate (measured in pounds of nitrogen oxides per million Btu) averaged 
over all of those units is less than or equal to the Btu-weighted 
average annual emission rate for the same units if they had been 
operated, during the same period of time, in compliance with the 
limitation set by section 3. If the permitting authority determines, in 
accordance with regulations issued under section 5, that the 
requirements of the preceding sentence will be met, the permitting 
authority shall issue operating permits for such units that allow such 
alternative contemporaneous annual emission limitations. Such emission 
limitations shall only remain in effect while all such units continue 
operation under the conditions specified in their respective operating 
permits.

SEC. 5. RULEMAKING; IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Rulemaking.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency shall issue regulations to implement and enforce the 
requirements of this Act. Such regulations shall be issued not later 
than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Implementation and Enforcement.--After December 31, 2000, no 
unit covered by section 3 or 4 may operate without a permit issued by 
the Administrator or the State in which such unit is located. Such 
permits shall be subject to title V of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7661 and following). The requirements of this Act shall be treated as 
an emission limitation under the Clean Air Act for purposes of sections 
113 and 304 of such Act.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, terms used in this Act shall have the 
same meaning as provided by section 402 of the Clean Air Act.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act 
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Nitrogen Oxide Standard.--Sections 3, 4, and 5 of this Act 
shall take effect with respect to any emissions occurring after 
December 31, 2000.
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