The Keystone XL pipeline would carry crude oil from Canada and oil-producing U.S. states to refineries along the Gulf Coast and stand to create thousands of manufacturing and metalcasting jobs. The project was not approved by the Obama Administration in its current form.


before a rule is proposed. Approved by the House Judiciary Committee at the end of March and awaiting vote by the full House of Represen- tatives, the act would require the following steps before any action could compel a federal agency to take regulatory action: • Publication of the complaint. • An opportunity for affected parties to intervene.


• Referral to a mediation program or a magistrate judge.


• Opportunity for public comment. • Approval by the Attorney General of any decree or agreement in cases litigated by the Department of Justice.


EPA REGULATIONS


Utility MACT Te Utility MACT was finalized in December 2011 and requires coal- fueled power plants to reduce mercury and other toxic emissions by installing


34 | MODERN CASTING June 2012


pollution control technology. Te rule would require billions of dollars to be invested to install these technolo- gies. Of concern to metalcasters is the potential lack of power and expected increase in cost. According to the North American Reliability Council, as much as 15% of total generation capacity could be shut down. With electricity costs already on the rise, Utility MACT would add almost $9 billion/year to domestic manufacturing facilities’ energy bills. Plants will have three years to


comply with the new rule, with an extra year granted on a case-by-case basis. For many plants, this is not expected to be long enough to install the new equipment or convert to another source, which stands to result in grid failures.


Cross-State Air Pollution Rule


Te Cross-State Air Pollution Rule was issued in July 2011 and requires power plants in 28 states to reduce


emissions contributing to ozone and/ or fine particle pollution and sets up an emissions trading program. Te courts have issued a stay on the rule, which was slated to go into effect in January, due to the short period of time between the finalization and implementation of the rule. Under the new rule, an estimated 900 coal-fired plants will be required to cut down their emissions by 2014, which could cost the industry $1.4 bil- lion in 2012 and $800 million in 2014, according to EPA. Te rule has been read twice by the


Senate before being referred to the Committee on Energy and Public Works.


Power-Plant Emissions Rules EPA issued its first-ever rules


to limit greenhouse emissions in its “Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New Stationary Sources: Electric Util- ity Generating Units” at the end of


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