Gordon promises to sue after EPA moves to slash coal emissions

Biden administration’s suite of coal pollution rules a win for climate and health, advocates say, but a major blow to one of Wyoming’s bedrock economic drivers.

Gov. Mark Gordon has promised to sue over a new suite of federal rules that most observers agree will hasten the U.S. thermal coal industry’s trajectory toward extinction — an existential threat to many Wyoming communities and one of the state’s main economic drivers.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued four “final” rules aimed at drastically cutting coal pollution, including a mandate that existing coal-fired power plants cut or capture 90% of their planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions by 2032 or convert to natural gas or close altogether. The agency’s other rules set timelines for significant cuts to smokestack emissions of mercury and other toxic metals, polluted wastewater from coal power plants and more stringent standards for coal ash disposal.

The “power plant” rules make good on President Joe Biden’s promise to address human-caused climate change, according to the EPA. The actions are also intended to help curtail illness and premature deaths from coal pollution while providing a clear regulatory framework for utilities to shift to renewable sources of energy.

The agency also noted that it consulted with coal-reliant utilities about their existing plans regarding coal facilities and crafted the implementation schedules to allow for planning that avoids electrical power supply issues.

“By developing these standards in a clear, transparent, inclusive manner, EPA is cutting pollution while ensuring that power companies can make smart investments and continue to deliver reliable electricity for all Americans,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a prepared statement.

Coal proponents in Wyoming are furious.

While the rules target coal-fueled power plants, they also put Wyoming coal mines on notice: Their already waning U.S. customer base has an expiration date.

“It is clear the only goal envisioned by these rules released by the Environmental Protection Agency today is the end of coal communities in Wyoming,” Gordon said in a prepared statement Thursday. “EPA has weaponized the fear of climate change into a crushing set of rules that will result in an unreliable electric grid, unaffordable electricity and thousands of lost jobs.”

The Wyoming Mining Association also discounted climate change as an excuse to attack the coal industry.

“Wyoming is once again the sacrificial lamb on the altar of the climate change cult,” the association’s Executive Director Travis Deti said.

The rules

The carbon dioxide emissions rule applies to coal-fired power plants as well as new natural gas-fired facilities, requiring them to prevent at least 90% of greenhouse gasses from entering the atmosphere.

“Existing coal-fired power plants are the largest source of [greenhouse gas] from the power sector,” the EPA stated in the rule. “New natural gas-fired combustion turbines are some of the largest new sources of [greenhouse gas] being built today, and these final standards will ensure that they are constructed to minimize their [greenhouse gas] emissions.”

The rule updating Mercury and Air Toxics Standards tightens emissions by about 70%, an especially significant reduction for plants that burn lignite — a lower-value coal than Wyoming’s subbituminous product — according to the agency.

Coal-fueled power plants will also be required to reduce various “pollutants” associated with wastewater by more than 660 million pounds annually, and follow more stringent standards to prevent leaks at coal-ash storage facilities.

Implications for Wyoming

Wyoming remains the nation’s largest coal producer, although production has plummeted by nearly half since 2008, with companies shipping some 237 million tons in 2023, according to the Wyoming State Geological Survey. More than 90% of coal mined in the state is sold to power plants in the U.S., which is why it’s often referred to as “thermal coal” — unlike “metallurgic coal” that is sold to steel manufacturers.

Coal mining contributed some $650 million in taxes, royalties and fees to the state in 2019 and employed more than 5,000 workers, according to the Wyoming Mining Association.

The vast majority of coal mining occurs in the Powder River Basin in the northeast corner of the state, while several communities host nearby coal-fired power plants: Gillette, Glenrock, Wheatland, Kemmerer and Rock Springs.

Although Wyoming has experienced declines in both coal production and coal-fired power, the industry still serves as a major economic backbone for the state — and a significant source of government revenue. The potential loss of coal-fired power facilities is an especially daunting prospect for nearby communities.

Those communities have wrestled with the knowledge of potential plant closures for a long time already, and the EPA’s new rules only serve to clarify that potential reality, said Robert Godby, associate professor at the University of Wyoming’s Economics Department.

“It really just kind of steepens the glide path to what we all knew was happening anyway,” he told WyoFile on Friday.

The new rules are likely to be challenged in court, not only by Wyoming, but also by other coal-reliant states, Godby said. Politics will also continue to play a role — particularly if a Republican wins the presidential election this year. He noted, however, that former President Donald Trump was not able to make good on a promise to turn around the coal industry’s decline.

Regardless, utilities are under increasing pressure to make long-term investment decisions in a quickly changing energy environment, and the EPA’s actions this week diminish the likelihood that they’ll find the regulatory certainty needed to invest in coal-fueled power.

“It makes it more likely they’re going to retire [coal plants] and announce firm dates,” Godby said. “That’s going to create more certainty for the communities that are affected.”

Meantime, Gordon, who has touted technologies to reduce carbon dioxide from coal power plants, has vowed to fight the rules.

“These rules are a travesty, and their effects are devastating,” Gordon said. “I have directed the Wyoming Attorney General to engage with and lead a coalition of states to challenge the power plant emissions rule, and we are prepared to apply our litigation strategy to the oncoming wave of federal regulatory actions that threaten Wyoming.”

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

This story was posted on April 26, 2024.