Title 42 › CHAPTER 85 — AIR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL › SUBCHAPTER IV–A — ACID DEPOSITION CONTROL › § 7651d
After January 1, 2000, existing electric utility units must meet yearly sulfur dioxide (SO2) limits based on each unit’s fuel use and its 1985 emission rates. Plant owners must either keep actual SO2 below those limits or hold enough EPA Phase II allowances to cover their emissions. The EPA will give out basic Phase II allowances and a bonus reserve of up to 530,000 allowances each year from 2000 through 2009. By June 1, 1998, the EPA must compute a number tied to units that got operating extensions and, for 2000–2009, reduce each such unit’s basic allocation by its share of 10 percent of that computed sum. The EPA also gives extra, special allowances to certain units in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee equal to 50,000 times each unit’s pro rata share; those extra allowances are not counted under the 8,900,000‑ton cap. The rules use simple size and rate tests. Units at or above 75 MWe with 1985 rates at or above 1.20 lbs/mmBtu generally get annual limits equal to baseline × 1.20 lbs/mmBtu ÷ 2,000, unless covered by allowances. Units with 1985 rates above 1.20 but under 2.50 and with baseline capacity factor under 60% may receive extra reserve allowances equal to 1.20 lbs/mmBtu times 50% of the Btu difference between baseline and fuel at a 60% capacity factor (allocated 2000–2009). There are special limits for lignite-heavy units in certain states, and small annual bonus limits (not to exceed 5,000) for some units that converted from oil to coal in large states. Coal units with 1985 rates below 0.60 lbs/mmBtu or between 0.60 and 1.20 get limits based on the lesser of actual or allowable 1985 rates multiplied by a 120% factor, divided by 2,000, with an option to take extra reserve allowances tied to a 60% capacity factor through 2009. Oil- and gas-fired units follow similar tiered limits (thresholds at 0.60 and 1.20 lbs/mmBtu) and some small or local units get small extra yearly shares (7,000 or 2,000). Units that began operation between 1986 and 1995 have specific formulas or listed fixed annual allowances. Units that burned mostly natural gas in 1980–1989 have limits tied to their 1985 rate and receive small additional allocations equal to baseline × 0.050 lbs/mmBtu ÷ 2,000 for 2000–2009 and again beginning in 2010. High-growth States and certain municipal units also get limited extra allocations (caps include 40,000 and 5,000 in different places).
Full Legal Text
The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 7651d
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110