OREANDA-NEWS. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected industry and state requests that it take another look at CO2 emissions limits for new coal-fired power plants.

The agency on 29 April denied five petitions for reconsideration of the regulations filed by two utilities, an industry group and the state of Wisconsin. The petitions asked EPA to reconsider based on a number of factors, including the cost and viability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and procedural issues with how the agency finalized the standards.

The petitioners focused on EPA's use of SaskPower's Boundary Dam carbon capture project to justify its determination that the technology could be used by new power plants.

The critics argued that the project has experienced a number of problems since it started in October 2014, such as not achieving the desired rate of carbon capture. But EPA said that nearly all of the issues had been resolved and that most were related to "ancillary systems" and not the actual CCS technology.

The suggestion the project has run into problems that would call into question its feasibility "is greatly exaggerated" and "essentially" incorrect EPA said.

"Boundary Dam's performance corroborates rather than undermines a finding that partial CCS is an adequately demonstrated technology," the agency said.

Standards written under the authority of the Clean Air Act, including the carbon controls, must be set based on the "best system of emission reduction" that EPA determines has been adequately demonstrated.

The project captures CO2 from the 110MW unit 3 of the Boundary Dam project near Estevan, Saskatchewan.

The regulations, which EPA finalized last year alongside its Clean Power Plan for existing power plants, require new coal-fired units to emit no more than 1,400lb CO2/MWh. EPA says new units can meet the limits using partial carbon capture.

American Electric Power, which submitted one of the petitions, did not comment directly on EPA's decision. But the company said the information it included on the Boundary Dam project should "call into question EPA's reliance on this project to demonstrate that CCS is an available demonstrated technology."

EPA also denied petitions filed by Ameren, the Utility Air Regulatory Group and the Energy and Environment Legal Institute. The agency partially denied Wisconsin's petition and deferred action on the state's request that it reconsider the treatment of biomass emissions when co-fired with fossil fuels, pending the outcome of EPA's review of the issue in general.

The petitions preview many of the issues likely to be raised in litigation against the CO2 limits, which are being challenged in court by 25 states, 16 industry groups and utilities such as Southern Co. and Luminant.

The various parties suing EPA have until 15 July to file their initial legal arguments with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.