May be a punt…

A rulemaking petition by PGE to obtain regulatory relief for one of several sets of proposed costly controls was turned down by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on May 18. However, the denial of the petition does not mean that the needed regulatory relief will not be granted. Under DEQ procedures, the petition must be acted on (approved or denied) within 90 days. So the denial is, reportedly, a mechanism to punt for more time and allow the agency to explore more options and garner the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval.

If the relief cannot be obtained from a needed rule change, the aging plant may, in order to remain cost effective, either close prior to the retrofitting (a 2014 closure option) or operate much longer (a 2040 closure option) to recover the costs.

The 2020 closure plan preferred by PGE is under cooperation by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC), but is heavily dependant on DEQ and EPA cooperation. Associated Oregon Industries (AOI) actively opposes the early 2014 closure advocated by the Sierra Club.