Eric Fruits recently was appointed to serve on a Fiscal Advisory Committee convened by Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality. The Committee was charged with evaluating the economic impacts of DEQ’s proposal for requiring emission controls at the PGE Boardman coal-fired power plant. DEQ’s proposal is in response to the federal requirement for Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART), which is a mandatory requirement under the Regional Haze Rule.
Among the options considered, DEQ’s proposed action would provide the largest environmental benefit. However, DEQ’s proposed action would also produce the large electricity rate increases.
