On behalf of Morning Star Packing Company, Merit Oil Company, and Norman R. “Skip” Brown (the “California Commenters”), Texas Public Policy Foundation (“TPPF”) hereby submits comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s” or the “Agency’s”) proposed amendments to the rule-making titled “Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units (EGUs),” which EPA promulgated by notice dated October 23, 2015 (the “2015 Rule”), which regulate carbon dioxide emissions from new fossil fuel-fired sources under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (the “Clean Air Act” or the “Act”). See 42 U.S.C. § 7411. The instant comments are made to inform EPA of the significant obstacles to continuing the 2015 Rule, with amendments, as the Agency has proposed in its call for comments. The California Commenters note that some of the same problems that plagued the 2015 Rule remain with the proposal to amend it.
Transmission Trouble
The Public Utility Commission of Texas should pause implementation of ERCOT’s Strategic Transmission Expansion Plan (STEP) and carefully evaluate more affordable, reliable alternatives before committing Texans to the largest transmission projects in state history. While Texas faces growing electricity demand from population growth, industrial expansion, and data centers, STEP fails to address the state’s most...