Manchin Asks EPA To Delay ‘Good Neighbor Rule’ Over Grid Concerns

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to delay a rule that could affect coal-fired power plants. 

Manchin, D-West Virginia, has asked EPA Administrator Michael Regan to delay what’s called the “Good Neighbor Rule.”

The rule would require a reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from power plants and other industrial facilities within three years of its implementation.

It would mean some power plants have to install new equipment to meet the rule’s requirements or shut down.

In a letter to Regan last week, Manchin noted concerns about the impact of plant closures on grid reliability.

“I urge EPA to postpone finalizing this rule until the agency has addressed the warnings from our nation’s electric reliability experts and the significant concerns expressed by state environmental agencies,” Manchin wrote.

Mon Power’s Fort Martin Power Station in Monongalia County does not have the newest NOx-reduction equipment.

Mon Power is evaluating whether to purchase the Pleasants Power Station in Pleasants County, which does have an updated system to control NOx.

If no buyer steps forward, the Pleasants plant will shut down at the end of May.

State lawmakers adopted a nonbinding resolution encouraging Mon Power to purchase Pleasants.

Ratepayers would bear the cost of purchasing Pleasants or upgrading Fort Martin.