EconomyEnergyEnvironment

Costello Pushes For Benge Review Of Regional Haze Deal

Oklahoma labor commissioner raises concerns about PSO haze settlement
BY PAUL MONIES, The Oklahoman

Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello is questioning whether state environmental officials properly approved a settlement that would allow electric utility Public Service Co. of Oklahoma to phase out its coal units to comply with federal visibility regulations.

Costello sent a letter to Secretary of State Chris Benge last week contending the Department of Environmental Quality didn’t follow the state’s Administrative Procedures Act on a settlement to comply with regional haze regulations.

“DEQ’s failure to submit its revised (regional haze state implementation plan) to the honorable Governor Fallin and the Oklahoma Legislature for review and approval before implementation has created a fatal error, which is irreparable at this late date,” Costello wrote in the July 8 letter.

PSO, state officials and the Sierra Club agreed to a settlement in 2012 that would phase out the utility’s last two coal units at its Northeastern Station plant near Oologah. The utility plans to stop one coal unit in 2016 and install some additional emissions controls on the other coal unit before decommissioning it by 2026. PSO estimates the settlement could cost $350 million, much of which would be passed on to ratepayers starting in 2016. Rates could rise at least 11 percent.

Read the complete story on NewsOK.com

 

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