What are the effects of changes in new source review programs upon power sector emissions and costs?

The National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine has been asked by the U.S. Congress to evaluate the potential air quality, public health, and other impacts of the US Environmental Protection Agency\´s 2002 and 2003 changes to "new source review" (NSR) rules. These changes have been particularly controversial with respect to power generation facilities. Advocates of the changes state that the changes will promote efficiency and result in no significant increase in emissions of SO₂ and NO_x, while critics state that emissions and their impacts will greatly increase. This presentation summarize the methodology and conclusions of the report of the NRC Committee on the Effects of Changes in NSR programs for stationary sources of air pollutants, which was released publicly in Spring of 2006. The focus was on the Committee\´s conclusions regarding the cost and criteria pollutant emission impacts of the rule change. A key factor is the interaction of the rule change with other air pollution programs, notably regional emissions caps under Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act, the NOx state implementation plan (SIP) call, and the 2005 clean air interstate rule (CAIR)