[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2610 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2610

    To amend the Clean Air Act to repeal the grandfather status for 
                        electric utility units.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

              October 9 (legislative day, October 2), 1998

 Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lautenberg, and 
Mr. Torricelli) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Clean Air Act to repeal the grandfather status for 
                        electric utility units.

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

SECTION 1. STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE FOR ELECTRIC UTILITY UNITS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) older electric utility units are exempt from strict 
        emission control requirements applicable to newer facilities, 
        allowing some older units to emit greater quantities of 
        dangerous pollutants;
            (2) this disparity in regulatory treatment is of particular 
        concern in the new era of electric utility restructuring, which 
        was never envisioned at the time of enactment of the Clean Air 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) or amendments to that Act;
            (3) in an era of electric utility restructuring, utilities 
        that spend less money on environmental controls will be able to 
        increase their generation of power and emissions of dangerous 
        pollutants;
            (4) this situation results in an unfair competitive 
        disadvantage for utilities that generate electricity while 
        meeting strict environmental standards; and
            (5) electricity restructuring can result in enormous 
        benefits for consumers and the environment if done right.
    (b) Standards.--Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Standards of Performance for Electric Generating Units.--
            ``(1) Definition of grandfathered unit.--In this 
        subsection, the term `grandfathered unit' means a fossil fuel-
        fired electric utility unit that, before the date of enactment 
        of this subsection, was not subject to the standards of 
        performance set forth in subpart D of part 60 of title 40, Code 
        of Federal Regulations, or to any subsequently adopted standard 
        of performance under this section applicable to fossil fuel-
        fired electric utility units.
            ``(2) Applicability.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, in the case of a fossil fuel-fired electric utility 
        unit, a standard of performance under this section that applies 
        to new or modified electric utility units shall also apply to a 
        grandfathered unit that--
                    ``(A) has the capacity to generate more than 25 
                megawatts of electrical output per hour; and
                    ``(B) generates electricity that flows through 
                transmission or connected facilities that cross State 
                lines (including electricity in a transaction that for 
                regulatory purposes is treated as an intrastate rather 
                than an interstate transaction).
            ``(3) Deadlines for compliance.--Each grandfathered unit 
        shall comply with--
                    ``(A) a standard of performance established under 
                this section before the date of enactment of this 
                subsection, not later than 5 years after the date of 
                enactment of this subsection; and
                    ``(B) a standard of performance established under 
                this section on or after the date of enactment of this 
                subsection, not later than 3 years after the date of 
                establishment of the standard.
            ``(4) Alternative compliance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To provide an alternative means 
                of complying with standards of performance made 
                applicable by this subsection, the Administrator 
                shall--
                            ``(i) establish national annual limitations 
                        for calendar year 2003 and each calendar year 
                        thereafter for each pollutant subject to the 
                        standards at a level that is equal to the 
                        aggregate emissions of each pollutant that 
                        would result from application of the standards 
                        to all electric utility units subject to this 
                        section;
                            ``(ii) allocate transferable allowances for 
                        pollutants subject to the standards to electric 
                        utility units subject to this section in an 
                        annual quantity not to exceed the limitations 
                        established under clause (i) based on each 
                        unit's share of the total electric generation 
                        from such units in each calendar year; and
                            ``(iii) require grandfathered units to meet 
                        the standards by emitting in any calender year 
                        no more of each pollutant regulated under this 
                        section than the quantity of allowances that 
                        the unit holds for the pollutant for the 
                        calendar year.
                    ``(B) Calculation of limitations.--In calculating 
                the limitations under subparagraph (A)(i), the 
                Administrator shall apply the standard for the 
                applicable fuel type in effect in calendar year 2000.
            ``(5) No effect on obligation to comply with other 
        provisions.--Nothing in this subsection affects the obligation 
        of an owner or operator of a source to comply with--
                    ``(A) any standard of performance under this 
                section that applies to the source under any provision 
                of this section other than this subsection; or
                    ``(B) any other provision of this Act (including 
                provisions relating to National Ambient Air Quality 
                Standards and State Implementation Plans).''.
                                 <all>