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Statement of Need: Section 112(n)(1)(A) of the Clean Air Act required EPA to conduct a study of the hazards to public health resulting from emissions of hazardous air pollutants from electric utility steam generating units and, after considering the results of that study, determine whether it was appropriate and necessary to regulate such units under section 112. The study was completed in 1998, and, in December 2000, EPA determined that it was appropriate and necessary to regulate coal- and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units and added such units to the list of sources for which standards must be developed under section 112. The February 8, 2008, vacatur of the May 18, 2005, Clean Air Mercury Rule and March 29, 2005, section 112(n) revision rule (which had removed such sources from the list) resulted in the requirement to regulate under section 112 being reinstated.

Summary of the Legal Basis: Clean Air Act, section 112

Alternatives: Not yet determined.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: EPA estimates that this final rule will yield annual monetized benefits (in 2007$) of between $37 to $90 billion using a 3 percent discount rate and $33 to $81 billion using a 7 percent discount rate. The great majority of the estimates are attributable to co-benefits from 4,200 to 11,000 fewer PM2.5-related premature mortalities. The monetized benefits from reductions in mercury emissions, calculated only for children exposed to recreationally caught freshwater fish, are expected to be $0.004 to $0.006 billion in 2016 using a 3 percent discount rate and $0.0005 to $0.001 billion using a 7 percent discount rate. The annual social costs, approximated by the compliance costs, are $9.6 billion (2007$) and the annual monetized net benefits are $27 to $80 billion using 3 percent discount rate or $24 to $71 billion using a 7 percent discount rate. The benefits outweigh costs by between 3 to 1 or 9 to 1 depending on the benefit estimate and discount rate used.

Risks: Not yet determined.