The Louisville Bar Association hosted a seminar focusing on Sustainability and Utility Regulation. Bob Ehrler (LG&E/KU), Peter Goodmann (Kentucky Division of Water), and Tony Hatton (Kentucky Division of Waste Management) were the speakers.
Mr. Ehrler spoke about the developments in air quality regulations and their effect on utilities, like LG&E. He highlighted several changes, including:
- The Mercury and Air Toxics Rule (MATS) and said that this is a major change that will result in the closure of many older plants.
- The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which is currently in a state of unknown. CSAPR was vacated on 8/12/12 but left in place CAIR until a replacement can be promulgated. Interestingly, the Supreme Court granted cert for CSAPR on June 24, 3013.
- National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5, Ozone, and SO2.
- New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions will affect new fossil-fired generating units. In President Obama’s press conference regarding climate change on June 25, 2013, EPA was directed to issue guidelines to be used by the state in regulating existing coal-fired generating units.
Peter Goodmann spoke on water issues that are relevant to Kentucky. The issue driving almost all water-related issues in the state is TMDL development. Mr. Goodmann spoke about the Floyds Fork Nutrient TMDL that is being developed and the process that has been used to create the TMDL. He also discussed the nutrient targets that are a numeric interpretation of the narrative nutrient standard in Kentucky. A brief discussion on the TMDL development for the rest of the state was also presented.