Walking the Line Between the Clean Air Act and the Federal Power Act: Balancing Emission Reductions and Bulk Power Reliability

A power plant can find itself subject to potential liability under the Clean Air Act if it does not cease or greatly reduce operations and at the same time be compelled by the Department of Energy and/or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission acting under the Federal Power Act to keep operating to ensure reliability. There needs to be cooperation among the federal agencies to create a stable and predictable regulatory environment at a minimum and, more preferably, a comprehensive solution to prevent this conflict from occurring in the first place.