H.R. 1119 would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to amend an air emissions standard for certain power plants that are subject to emissions limitations under the agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The bill would affect power plants that generate electricity by burning coal refuse (a waste byproduct of coal) as their primary fuel source. Specifically, the bill would require the EPA to permit operators of such plants to comply with an alternative emissions standard for controlling acid gases that is less stringent than the current MATS.
Using information from the EPA about current regulation of hazardous air pollutants, CBO estimates that the costs of modifying existing regulations to comply with H.R. 1119 would be minimal and would not have a significant effect on the agency’s workload or spending.
Enacting H.R. 1119 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1119 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1119 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
