Christine Ho, christine.ho@sierraclub.org
Washington, D.C. – For the first time in nearly two decades, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed improved standards for nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from new gas-fired power plants. NOx molecules react with other compounds in the atmosphere to form ozone–the primary component of smog—which causes asthma attacks, lung damage, cardiovascular ailments, and premature death. Today’s proposed rule reflects emission-control technology that has been developed in the last two decades, and the agency projects that the new safeguards will reduce emissions by 198 tons by 2027, and 2,659 tons in 2032. EPA estimates that the rule will, on average, provide over $45 million in monetized health benefits per year.
EPA’s current safeguards, last updated in 2006, allow gas-fired power plants to emit up to 15 parts per million ppm of NOx. Over the last two decades, rapidly-advancing technology has made it possible for power plants to curb far more of these harmful emissions without compromising grid reliability. For instance, plants like Marsh Landing in Pittsburgh, California, have managed to cut down the plant’s NOx emissions to only 2.5ppm, 83 percent lower than the EPA's current cap. Until now, however, the EPA has not kept up with these developments and have instead allowed new gas-fired plants to avoid installing the best pollution controls, resulting in dangerous and unhealthy levels of NOx pollution from these sources.
In June 2022, Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund sued the EPA for its years of inaction. The lawsuit resulted in a consent decree that ordered the EPA to create new safeguards to reflect lower emission standards that are now attainable with technology, and the agency must take final action on this proposal by November 2025.
In response, Sierra Club Chief Energy Officer Holly Bender released the following statement:
“Gas-fired power plants have long contaminated our air with harmful NOx emissions, contributing to serious respiratory illnesses, causing heart attacks and premature death, and straining our public health system. Yet, we know these illnesses and deaths are preventable if power plants use readily available, cost-effective technologies to limit their harmful pollution.
“Today’s proposed standards are much needed to address this public health and environmental issue. Ultimately, the healthiest option for families across the nation is for power plants to stop burning fossil fuels altogether and for utilities to invest in clean and reliable renewable energy, and we will continue fighting for that.
“The incoming administration must take swift and decisive action to finalize NOx standards for new gas plants that are at least as protective as the ones proposed today. Sierra Club will vigorously oppose any attempt to weaken these safeguards, and will consider all options—including litigation—if the final standards do not adequately protect the health and wellbeing of our families and communities.”
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.