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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 10/06/2011MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL AMES, IOWA OCTOBER 6, 2011 The Ames City Council met in special session at 4:10 p.m. on the 6th day of October, 2011, in the City Council Chambers in City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue, pursuant to law with Mayor Ann Campbell presiding and the following Council Members present: Davis, Goodman, Larson, and Mahayni. Council Members Orazem and Wacha were absent. Ex officio member Finseth was also present. REVIEW OF UNITED STATES EPA FINAL CROSS STATE AIR POLLUTION RULE: City Attorney Doug Marek explained that the reason for the meeting is that the City recently learned the impacts of the Final Rule issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding “cross-state air pollution” on the operations of the Ames Power Plant. The Cross-State Air Pollution rules. The Clean Air Interstate Rule was struck down by the Court of Appeals. When the Final Rule was issued, it included emissions limitations, and the Electric Services Department has recently analyzed what impact those would have on the City’s Power Plant. Assistant Electric Services Director Brian Trower gave the background. In approximately 2005, the U.S. EPA starting working on the Clean Air Interstate Rule to regulate SO2 and NOx levels in 28 states and the District of Columbia; that Rule was to take effect on January 1, 2009. On December 23, 2008, the Court of Appeals in the D.C. District remanded that Rule back to the EPA to re-write it; however, the Clean Air Interstate Rule regulations were to be left in place until the replacement Rule was finalized. On August 2, 2010, EPA published in the Federal Register the proposed replacement rule. Along with the proposed new rule, EPA also issued proposed emissions allocations for SO2 and NOx for each of the affected units, including Ames Units 7 and 8. The City of Ames and many other interested parties provided comments on the proposed rule. On August 8, 2011, EPA published the Final Rule [officially known as the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)] in the Federal Register. As a part of issuing the Final CSAPR, the EPA also issued revised final SO2 and NOx emissions allocations for each of the affected units. For the City of Ames, specifically, and for the vast majority of the affected units in Iowa many of the affected units in other states, the final allocations were significantly lower than the proposed allocations published with the proposed rule a year earlier. Mr. Trower explained that the proposed allocation of NOx credits for City of Ames Units 7 & 8 totaled 1154 tons. The final allocations of NOx credits totaled 602 for years 2012 and 588 for 2014. These allocations represent reductions of 48% for 2012 and 49% for 2014. Annual NOx emissions from Unit 7 and Unit 8 -- averaged for the period 2006 through 2010 -- totaled 1155 tons. This means that in order to be in compliance with CSAPR’s final allocations for NOx, operation of Units 7 & 8 would have to be restricted approximately 50% below the City’s recent historical output. According to Mr. Trower, the final allocation for ozone season NOx (OS-NOx) for Units 7 & 8 totaled 270 for 2012 and 264 for 2014. Annual OS-NOx emissions from Units 7 & 8 averaged 491 tons for the period 2006 through 2010. The final CSAPR allocation of 270 tons in 2012 and 264 tons in 2014 fall short of meeting the City’s historical needs by 45% and 46%, respectively. The Council was told by Mr. Trower that, since EPA issued the Final CPASR on August 8, 2011, and it becomes effective January 1, 2012, the City does not have adequate time to acquire and install control equipment before the compliance deadline. Also, because other affected units in Iowa and in other states are facing similar reductions of allocations, the market for trading allowances will not satisfy the market demands. Likewise, generators that are affiliated with a power market, such as the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) – of which Ames is a Participant - may be affected if its members restrict their operating units in order to comply with CPASR. As a result, MISO could be short of power or lose the ability to move power to where it is needed. Mr. Trower listed many of the other entities that will be impacted by the Final Rule. City Attorney Marek advised that the implementation of CSAPR can be challenged administratively by filing a petition for review with the administrator of EPA and also by filing for judicial review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Several states and regulated entities have already filed petitions for review, and it is anticipated that many more will file petitions by the deadline on Friday, October 7, 2011. Mr. Marek noted that the City of Ames already has an engagement with the Ritts Law Group for legal advice and services related to Clean Air Act compliance. The proposed actions may be undertaken under the existing engagement agreement. It is not expected to be any significant expense for the filing of the Petitions. There will be increased costs in the future, but they would be shared by all the Petitioners. When asked what the expected time frame was for action on the Petition, Mr. Marek stated that it was anticipated that within 30 days, Petitioners will be asked for additional information. Moved by Mahayni, seconded by Davis, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 11-459 authorizing Filing of Petition with U. S. EPA for Reconsideration of Final Rule. Council Member Goodman asked if the Petition would be asking for a three-year extension for compliance. Mr. Trower said that they would be asking the EPA to reconsider its mathematical method to see if its numbers are correct. The second part would ask for a realistic time frame for compliance. Mr. Marek said that, as part of the court procedure, the Petition would allege that an improper procedure was used because there was not enough notice between the time the allocations were announced and the effective date of the Rule. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these Minutes. Moved by Mahayni, seconded by Davis, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 11-460 authorizing Filing of Petition with U. S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Requesting Stay of Final Rule. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these Minutes. ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Davis to adjourn the meeting at 4:35 p.m. ___________________________________ ____________________________________ Diane R. Voss, City Clerk Ann H. Campbell, Mayor 2