What price clean air? (and water)

................the plant and the mine that powers it may be sacrificed to this dubious environmental crusade. The new technology would reduce nitrate aerosols. They, however, are responsible for just 4 percent of what is called “light extinction” over the Grand Canyon.

Water falls unbidden from the sky but must be pumped to Arizonans — Tucson is 2,500 feet above sea level. The NGS [Navajo Generating Station ] provides 95 percent of the power for the pumps of the Central Arizona Project (CAP), which made Phoenix and most of modern Arizona possible. A study sponsored by the Interior Department estimates that the EPA’s mandate might increase the cost of water by as much as 32 percent, hitting agriculture users especially hard. They might be driven back to using scarce groundwater — which was supposed to be protected by the CAP. That is why many environmentalists supported the CAP, one of the largest reclamation projects in U.S. history.

An Arizona State University study estimates that between now and 2044, the NGS and the mine will contribute $20 billion to the state’s economy and provide 3,000 jobs each year. If there is an NGS. Its site lease expires in 2019. If the EPA mandates the most expensive technologies, each of the NGS owners would have to weigh whether it is sensible to make large capital investments in a plant that might not operate after that. Furthermore, one of the six owners of the NGS is the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which may be prohibited by California law — the state may be destitute, but it is determined to fix the climate — from making investments that will extend the life of coal-fired plants................

Then in Texas:

First casualty of greenhouse gas rules may be Texas plant "Developers targeted 2013 to begin operating a new power plant fueled by the carbon-rich leftover from nearby oil refining in Corpus Christi.

The Las Brisas Energy Center will not be ready by then, however, and there are doubts the project will be built at all, making it the latest flash point in a long fight between Texas and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The $3 billion project has stalled as the federal government pushes to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to global warming from new power plants. The first-ever rules are expected to bring an end to the era of coal-burning power generation as energy producers opt for cheap and plentiful natural gas.

The EPA's draft rules require new coal-fired plants to achieve limits that can be met easily by plants fueled by natural gas, which releases about half the carbon dioxide. The rules, known as the New Source Performance Standards, do not cover existing facilities.

The Las Brisas project could be among the first casualties because the plant, as designed, would burn petroleum coke, also known as pet coke, a refinery byproduct that produces about as much carbon dioxide as coal.

The rules, which the EPA proposed in March, act as a "moratorium on coal and pet coke plants," said Dave Freysinger, chief executive of Chase Power Development, the Las Brisas project's developer. "Given the issues with reliability of electricity in Texas, this is an untenable spot to be."...........

Current co sponsors of H.R. 750

Rep. Dan Burton [R-IN5]
Rep. Steven “Steve” Chabot [R-OH1]
Rep. Louis Gohmert [R-TX1]
Rep. Jim Jordan [R-OH4]
Rep. Jean Schmidt [R-OH2]
Rep. Blake Farenthold [R-TX27]
Rep. Robert Latta [R-OH5]
Rep. Bill Huizenga [R-MI2]
Rep. Michele Bachmann [R-MN6]
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R-GA3]
Rep. Bob Gibbs [R-OH18]
Rep. Daniel Lungren [R-CA3]
Rep. Sandy Adams [R-FL24]
Rep. Tom McClintock [R-CA4]
Rep. Dennis Ross [R-FL12]
Rep. Rob Bishop [R-UT1]
Rep. Michael Conaway [R-TX11]
Rep. John Fleming [R-LA4]
Rep. Trent Franks [R-AZ2]
Rep. John “Phil” Gingrey [R-GA11]
Rep. Andy Harris [R-MD1]
Rep. Randy Hultgren [R-IL14]
Rep. Jack Kingston [R-GA1]
Rep. Doug Lamborn [R-CO5]
Rep. Randy Neugebauer [R-TX19]
Rep. Steven “Steve” Pearce [R-NM2]
Rep. Mike Pence [R-IN6]
Rep. Reid Ribble [R-WI8]
Rep. Phil Roe [R-TN1]
Rep. Edward “Ed” Royce [R-CA40]
Rep. Joe Walsh [R-IL8]
Rep. Scott Tipton [R-CO3]
Rep. Jeff Denham [R-CA19]
Rep. Joseph Pitts [R-PA16]
Rep. Dennis “Denny” Rehberg [R-MT0]
Rep. John Carter [R-TX31]
Rep. Mike Coffman [R-CO6]
Rep. Walter “Wally” Herger [R-CA2]
Rep. Candice Miller [R-MI10]
Rep. Gary Miller [R-CA42]
Rep. Mike Pompeo [R-KS4]
Rep. Peter “Pete” Sessions [R-TX32]
Rep. Walter Jones [R-NC3]
Rep. Jeff Flake [R-AZ6]
Rep. Billy Long [R-MO7]
Rep. Rick Berg [R-ND0]
Rep. Shelley Capito [R-WV2]
Rep. Thaddeus “Thad” McCotter [R-MI11]
Rep. Tim Murphy [R-PA18]
Rep. James Lankford [R-OK5]
Rep. Robert “Bob” Goodlatte [R-VA6]
Rep. Vicky Hartzler [R-MO4]
Rep. Steve Austria [R-OH7]
Rep. Jeff Duncan [R-SC3]
Rep. Stephen Fincher [R-TN8]
Rep. Tom Graves [R-GA9]
Rep. Tim Huelskamp [R-KS1]
Rep. Lynn Jenkins [R-KS2]
Rep. Samuel “Sam” Johnson [R-TX3]
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-MO9]
Rep. Kenny Marchant [R-TX24]
Rep. Jeff Miller [R-FL1]
Rep. Rob Woodall [R-GA7]
Rep. Larry Bucshon [R-IN8]
Rep. Trey Gowdy [R-SC4]
Rep. Mick Mulvaney [R-SC5]
Rep. Diane Black [R-TN6]
Rep. Scott DesJarlais [R-TN4]
Rep. Bill Flores [R-TX17]
Rep. Samuel “Sam” Graves [R-MO6]
Rep. Frank Guinta [R-NH1]
Rep. Marsha Blackburn [R-TN7]
Rep. Kevin Brady [R-TX8]
Rep. Francisco “Quico” Canseco [R-TX23]
Rep. Alan Nunnelee [R-MS1]
Rep. David Schweikert [R-AZ5]
Rep. Thomas Marino [R-PA10]
Rep. Kevin Yoder [R-KS3]
Rep. Kristi Noem [R-SD0]
Rep. Addison “Joe” Wilson [R-SC2]
Rep. Donald Manzullo [R-IL16]
Rep. Steve Southerland [R-FL2]
Rep. Paul Broun [R-GA10]
Rep. Mark Amodei [R-NV2]
Rep. Lamar Smith [R-TX21]
Rep. Paul Gosar [R-AZ1]
Rep. Justin Amash [R-MI3]
Rep. Cory Gardner [R-CO4]
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann [R-TN3]
Rep. Adam Kinzinger [R-IL11]
Rep. Ben Quayle [R-AZ3]
Rep. Thomas Rooney [R-FL16]
Rep. Clifford “Cliff” Stearns [R-FL6]
Rep. Dan Benishek [R-MI1]
Rep. Austin Scott [R-GA8]
Rep. Tim Scott [R-SC1]
Rep. Pete Olson [R-TX22]
Rep. John Culberson [R-TX7]
Rep. Steve Scalise [R-LA1]
Rep. John Mica [R-FL7]
Rep. Jeb Hensarling [R-TX5]

I had an interesting meeting yesterday with a fellow who works for a large developer of power plants. As a consequence of a number of factors, including the problems at San Onofre and new laws from our wonderful legislature which limit the importation of electricity produced by coal fired plants, he is predicting rolling blackouts here in Southern California within the next two years, at which time the businesses and homeowners foresighted enough to have gasoline powered generators will fire those puppies up with predictable effects on local air quality. Those without their own generators will watch their food spoil and their profits evaporate - at least during the day. By night they will be sitting in the dark or trying to read by candlelight.

The last time we had a power outage here in San Diego, civil society did just fine. Friends and neighbors got together and helped each other and crime was almost nonexistent. I wonder if that will continue to be the case if rolling blackouts become a regular occurence during the summer.

What? You mean they didn't start robbing and killing each other almost as soon as the power went out? (Sorry, that was a HORRIBLE movie.)

We are typically out a couple days a year, three-plus days in the great N.E. Halloween storm last fall. People take in neighbors and friends provide heat, beds, refrigeration, food and water. No biggie...

But just wait 'til the poisoned fruit of the enviro-wacko tree matures and rolling blackouts become the norm. It is coming. Mark my words...

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