?/EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
EPA821-F-15-004
September 2015
Final Effluent Limitations Guidelines and
Standards for the Steam Electric Power
Generating Industry
Summary
EPA finalized a rule, on September 30, 2015, that
revises and strengthens the technology-based
effluent limitations guidelines and standards for
discharges from steam electric power plants. The
final rule sets the first federal limits on the amount
of toxic metals and other harmful pollutants that
steam electric power plants are allowed to discharge
in several of their largest sources of wastewater,
based on technology improvements in the steam
electric power industry over the last three decades.
• On an annual basis, the rule is projected to
reduce the amount of toxic metals, nutrients,
and other pollutants that steam electric power
plants are allowed to discharge by 1.4 billion
pounds and reduce water withdrawal by 57
billion gallons.
• Estimated annual compliance costs for the final
rule are $480 million.
• Estimated benefits associated with the rule are
$451 to $566 million.
Background
Steam electric power plants discharge large volumes
of wastewater, containing vast quantities of
pollutants, into waters of the United States. The
pollutants include both toxic and bioaccumulative
pollutants such as arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium,
chromium, and cadmium. Today, these discharges
account for about 30 percent of all toxic pollutants
discharged into surface waters by all industrial
categories regulated under the Clean Water Act.
The electric power industry has made great strides
to reduce air pollutant emissions under Clean Air Act
programs. Yet many of these pollutants are
transferred to the wastewater as plants employ
technologies to reduce air pollution.
The pollutants discharged by this industry can cause
severe health and environmental problems in the
form of cancer and non-cancer risks in humans,
lowered IQ among children, and deformities and
reproductive harm in fish and wildlife. Many of these
pollutants, once in the environment, remain there
for years. Due to their close proximity to these
discharges and relatively high consumption offish,
some minority and low-income communities have
greater exposure to, and are therefore at greater risk
from, pollutants in steam electric power plant
discharges.
There are, however, affordable technologies that are
widely available, and already in place at some plants,
which are capable of reducing or eliminating steam
electric power plant discharges. In the several
decades since the steam electric ELGs were last
revised, such technologies have increasingly been
used at plants. This final rule is the first to ensure
that plants in the steam electric industry employ
technologies designed to reduce discharges of toxic
metals and other harmful pollutants discharged in
the plants' largest sources of wastewater.
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Who is affected by this regulation?
Certain coal-fired steam electric power plants will be
affected by this rule. EPA estimates that about 12
percent of steam electric power plants will have to
make new investments to meet the new
requirements of this rule.
What does this rule require?
Generally, the final rule establishes new
requirements for wastewater streams from the
following processes and byproducts associated with
steam electric power generation: flue gas
desulfurization, fly ash, bottom ash, flue gas mercury
control, and gasification of fuels such as coal and
petroleum coke.
The final rule phases in the new, more stringent
requirements in the form of effluent limits for
arsenic, mercury, selenium, and nitrogen for
wastewater discharged from wet scrubber systems
(flue gas desulfurization wastestream) and zero
discharge of pollutants in ash transport water that
must be incorporated into the plants' NPDES
permits.
The rule encourages plants to commit to meeting
even more stringent limits for pollutants in the flue
gas desulfurization wastewater, plus a limit on total
dissolved solids, based on evaporation technology,
by giving them until the end of 2023 to meet the
more stringent limits.
The rule also establishes zero discharge pollutant
limits for flue gas mercury control wastewater, and
stringent limits on arsenic, mercury, selenium and
total dissolved solids in coal gasification wastewater,
based on evaporation technology.
The rule also includes even more stringent controls
for any new coal or petroleum coke plants that may
be built in the future.
Stack
Landfill Leachate
Groundwater- ______ ____^_
ACl: Activated carbon injection ESP: Electrostatic precipitator FGD: Flue gas desulfurization Hg: Mercury
How much time does a steam electric power
plant have before implementation?
Each plant must comply between 2018 and 2023
depending on when it needs a new Clean Water Act
permit.
What are the benefits of this regulation?
There are numerous documented instances of
environmental impacts associated with steam
electric power plant discharges including widespread
aquatic life impacts and toxic metal bioaccumulation
in wildlife. In addition, there are increased cancer
and non-cancer risks to humans from the pollutants.
This regulation will greatly reduce these impacts. Of
the benefits that could be monetized, EPA projects
$451 to $566 million per year in benefits associated
with this rule.
What are the costs of implementing this
rule?
Compliance costs of the final rule are economically
achievable, with an annual estimated cost of $480
million per year.
Analysis shows that the rule will have minimal
impacts on electricity prices and the amount of
electricity generating capacity.
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Where can I find more information?
For technical information about this rule, please
contact Ronald Jordan by email at
Jordan.ronald@epa.gov or by telephone at 202-566-
1003. For economic information about this rule,
please contact James Covington by email at
Covington.james@epa.gov or by phone at 202-566-
1034. You can also learn more about this rule by
visiting EPA's website at:
http://www2.epa.gov/eg/steam-electric-power-
generating-effluent-guidelines-2015-final-rule
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