Acid Rain Formation
United States' ' ^
Environmental Protection ^ *.~ June t993
Agency ^ <
Air and Radiation (6204J) ' '
Acid ram is caused when pollutants releas&d from the
burning of coal and other fossil fuels chemically react
with other substances in the atmosphere to form acids.
When these acids are carried down from the atmosphere
in rain, fog, or snow, they can harm fish, damage high-
altitude forests, and contribute to the deterioration of
buildings and historical monuments. The pollutants
that cause acid rain also have been known to impair
visibility in many regions of the nation, including the
.scenic vistas of our national parks.
*. -^
F £?
G /? /i
Recyded/Recyciabte .:'.?•':."
Printed on paper that contains •'
at least'50% recycled fiber.
-------
he Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990 call for major reductions in the
pollutants that cause acid rain. The
Amendments also establish a new approach
to environmental management. This brochure
answers some of the most commonly asked
questions about the Acid Rain Program.
How Do the Clean Air Act
Amendments Reduce Acid Rain?
The Clean Air Act Amendments require electric utili-
ties to substantially reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen oxides, the primary pollutants that con-
tribute to acid rain. Coal-burning electric power
plants are the main source of sulfur dioxide emissions
and a major source of nitrogen oxides emissions in the
United States.
Over the next 15 years, utilities nationwide must cut
their sulfur dioxide emissions in half from 1980 levels.
The Glean Air Act Amendments also set a permanent
ceiling on the total amount of sulfur dioxide that may
be emitted nationwide. So even as our population
grows and the demand for electric power increases,
emissions will not increase.. The law. also requires
most coal-burning utilities to install new burner tech-
nology to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions by about
30 to 50 percent.
Utility SO, Emissions
30
20
§
s
"S
-------
Does EPA Mandate How Sulfur
Dioxide Reductions Must Be Achieved?
No. Utilities have considerable flexibility in deciding
how to reduce these emissions. To provide this flexi-
bility, Congress set up an "allowance trading system."
Starting in 1995, EPA will allocate a limited number of
"allowances" to power plants. Each allowance per-
mits a utility to emit 1 ton of sulfur dioxide during
a specified year. By law, utilities may not emit more
tons of sulfur dioxide than the allowances they hold.
Because an average utility will be allocated half the
number of allowances that it emitted in 1980, it will
need to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions substantially.
Allowances may be bought, sold, or traded among
utilities, industrial plants, or anyone else interested in
purchasing them. As the following hypothetical exam-
ple illustrates, the tradability of allowances offers
utilities considerable flexibility in choosing the most
cost-effective method to reduce sulfur dioxide emis-
sions, thus offering potential for customer savings.
The options listed in the box below are just a sampling
of the many ways utilities can cut emissions under
the law.
. •f^'KseMm^s^fKKs^iffyff^
-------
.Could Some Areas of the Country
Experience, an Increase in Pollution?
Given the substantial sulfur dioxide reductions re-
quired under the Clean Air Act Amendments, it is un-
likely that emissions will increase in any locality. Even
if a utility were to purchase many allowances, the
Amendments require states to enforce strict emissions
limits to protect public health, and these limits cannot
be exceeded no matter how many allowances are held.
|f| How Does EPA Know That the
KF Reductions Are Really Taking Place?
Boilers in every power plant will have a "continuous
emission monitoring system," much like a water meter,
that will measure and record every ton of sulfur diox-
ide emitted. Utilities must keep very detailed records
of these measurements and report them to EPA. In
addition, EPA requires the plant to perform a series of
tests of the monitoring system to ensure its accuracy
prior to allowing utilities to operate the equipment.
EPA also requires the plant to check the monitors daily
and conduct accuracy tests at least once a year.
A Does the Allowance Trading System
W Really "Sell" Pollution?
No. The new law calls for substantial reductions of
pollutants currently released into our nation's air. The
purpose of the allowance program is to enable utilities
to reduce emissions where it is most cost-effective to
do so. Utilities that are able to reduce their emissions
below the limits set by EPA can sell or trade their
"unused allowances" to utilities where other controls
could be too costly. Such a sale would not increase
pollution, but simply shift control requirements from
one plant to another. Furthermore, since new plants
built after 1995 will not be allocated any allowances by
EPA, they will have to buy allowances in order to op-
erate, further reducing pollution from existing plants.
This also gives utilities a strong incentive to develop
new methods for efficiently reducing emissions.
-------
What Happens if a Utility Emits More
Sulfur Dioxide Than It Is Allowed?
A utility is fined $2,000 for each ton of sulfur dioxide
it emits over its allowance allocation. So if Utility A
emits 15,000 tons of sulfur dioxide while having only
12,000 allowances, it will pay a $6 million fine for
exceeding its allowance allocation. Moreover, the util-
ity must reduce emissions the following year by the
amount it exceeded its limit in the year of violation. In
this case, Utility A would be allowed to emit only 9,000
tons of sulfur dioxide the year following the violation.
What Will Controlling Acid Rain Cost
the Consumer?
Utility rates are expected to increase by only 0.5 to 1.2
percent on average. For consumers served by today's
heavy emitters of sulfur dioxide, electricity rates could
increase by as much as 10 to 15 percent. The market-
based allowance trading system should save the
American people about 25 to 50 percent over the
same level of emission reduction without trading.
This savings totals more than $1 billion annually.
How Will Reducing Add Rain Affect
the Environment?
Americans will benefit from the Acid Rain Program in
a number of ways. Lakes and streams affected by acid
rain will, be able to recover, restoring fish and other.
life. Visibility will improve, in the East by more than -
30 percent, allowing for increased enjoyment of scenic
vistas. The vitality of forests, particularly the red
spruce forests that populate mountain ridges from
Maine to Georgia, will be restored, and the Acid Rain
Program will preserve our cultural heritage by pro-
tecting historical buildings and monuments.
------- |