The utility industry appears split on whether President Obama should invoke a special Clean Air Act presidential exemption to extend compliance with EPA's pending utility air toxics rule beyond the air law's four-year window, with some utilities fearing it could give the agency too much power if Obama delegates the authority to EPA. Environmentalists, meanwhile, continue to oppose the idea outright, which has been floated by some utility industry officials in comments on the proposed version of the utility rule and in meetings with EPA and White House officials. Activist critics of the idea say the authority has never been used before and would be an unlawful loophole to air law deadlines. With a Dec. 16 legal deadline looming for EPA to issue the final utility maximum achievable control technology (MACT) air toxics rule, stakeholders are looking at options to extend the compliance deadlines for plants that will need more time to install pollution controls to comply. EPA's enforcement office is said to be preparing a process for utilities to obtain consent decrees allowing them to win more time than the air law allows for compliance.
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