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Time’s Up! Comment Period Closes On EPA’s Proposal to Limit Power Plant Carbon Dioxide Emissions

By VÉRONIQUE LACAPRA

Time has run out for the public to comment on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

The issue has been highly contentious.

By late November, the EPA had already received more than 1.6 million comments on its proposed rule.

Under the EPA’s plan, Missouri would need to reduce its carbon emissions 21 percent by the year 2030.

John Hickey, who directs the Sierra Club’s Missouri chapter, said the state should be able to exceed that goal just by following through on existing plans.

Those include increasing investments in renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and closing down some coal-fired power plants.

“If you look at coal plants where there has already been an announced retirement date set, that gets us a big chunk of the way there,” Hickey said.

Hickey cited the example of Ameren’s Meramec power plant in South St. Louis County, which is slated for closure by 2022.

Currently, about 80 percent of Missouri’s electricity comes from burning coal.

Hickey said the new carbon limits would have the collateral benefit of improving human health by reducing other air pollutants from power plants, like sulfur dioxide and fine particulates, which can cause asthma and increase the risk of heart disease.

Read the rest on St. Louis Public Radio

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