Carolyn Morrisroe, carolyn.morrisroe@sierraclub.org
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Today, the Biden administration finalized federal carbon pollution standards for existing coal-fired plants and new gas-fired power plants. These critically needed standards will slash carbon pollution and improve air and water quality for families and communities across Maryland.
The EPA estimates the carbon pollution standards will avoid over 1.4 billion metric tons of CO2 pollution through 2047. This action will also improve air quality by cutting harmful pollutants, including smog- and soot-forming compounds that cause serious lung and heart ailments, as well as hazardous air pollutants like mercury. The EPA projects that the standards will deliver up to $370 billion in climate and public health benefits over the next two-and-a-half decades.
The EPA also finalized stronger standards to reduce toxic wastewater discharged by coal-fired power plants, one of the largest sources of toxic water pollution in the United States. The EPA’s final Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) for coal plants will prevent 660 million pounds of pollutants including arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium and other toxic metals from being discharged into our water every year through cost-effective and readily available control technologies.
Together, these rules could impact the remaining coal-fired power plants operating in Maryland, and they highlight the importance of the state doing all it can to reduce harmful emissions. In December 2023, the Maryland Department of the Environment released its Climate Pollution Reduction Plan which set recommendations for the state to achieve 60 percent greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2031, and net-zero emissions by 2045. This session, however, the legislature added an amendment to the state's budget bill that stripped the state’s Building Energy Performance Standards, a key provision of the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022.
In response, Sierra Club Maryland Chapter Director Josh Tulkin released the following statement:
“Clean air and water are basic human rights. By finalizing stronger standards for carbon pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants and coal plant wastewater, the Biden administration is taking steps to ensure a healthier future for all communities in Maryland. The Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club celebrates the EPA’s new standards while also calling on the state to follow through on its commitments.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.