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Title: Consequences of proposed changes to Clean Water Act thermal discharge requirements

Abstract

This paper summarizes three studies that examined the economic and environmental impact on the power industry of (1) limiting thermal mixing zones to 1,000 feet, and (2) eliminating the Clean Water Act (CWA) {section}316(1) variance. Both of these proposed changes were included in S. 1081, a 1991 Senate bill to reauthorize the CWA. The bill would not have provided for grandfathering plants already using the variance or mixing zones larger than 1000 feet. Each of the two changes to the existing thermal discharge requirements were independently evaluated. Power companies were asked what they would do if these two changes were imposed. Most plants affected by the proposed changes would retrofit cooling towers and some would retrofit diffusers. Assuming that all affected plants would proportionally follow the same options as the surveyed plants, the estimated capital cost of retrofitting cooling towers or diffusers at all affected plants ranges from $21.4 to 24.4 billion. Both cooling towers and diffusers exert a 1%-5.8% energy penalty on a plant`s output. Consequently, the power companies must generate additional power if they install those technologies. The estimated cost of the additional power ranges from $10 to 18.4 billion over 20 years. Generation of the extra powermore » would emit over 8 million tons per year of additional carbon dioxide. Operation of the new cooling towers would cause more than 1.5 million gallons per minute of additional evaporation. Neither the restricted mixing zone size nor the elimination of the {section}316(1) variance was adopted into law. More recent proposed changes to the Clean Water Act have not included either of these provisions, but in the future, other Congresses might attempt to reintroduce these types of changes.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2]
  1. Argonne National Lab., Washington, DC (United States)
  2. Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
192458
Report Number(s):
ANL/EA/CP-85968; CONF-951147-1
ON: DE96005223; TRN: 96:001600
DOE Contract Number:  
W-31109-ENG-38
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: International clean water conference, La Jolla, CA (United States), 28-30 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
29 ENERGY PLANNING AND POLICY; 20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS; 21 NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; THERMAL EFFLUENTS; EMISSION; COOLING TOWERS; RETROFITTING; ECONOMIC IMPACT; CLEAN WATER ACTS; POWER PLANTS; COOLING SYSTEMS; CAPITALIZED COST

Citation Formats

Veil, J A, and Moses, D O. Consequences of proposed changes to Clean Water Act thermal discharge requirements. United States: N. p., 1995. Web.
Veil, J A, & Moses, D O. Consequences of proposed changes to Clean Water Act thermal discharge requirements. United States.
Veil, J A, and Moses, D O. 1995. "Consequences of proposed changes to Clean Water Act thermal discharge requirements". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/192458.
@article{osti_192458,
title = {Consequences of proposed changes to Clean Water Act thermal discharge requirements},
author = {Veil, J A and Moses, D O},
abstractNote = {This paper summarizes three studies that examined the economic and environmental impact on the power industry of (1) limiting thermal mixing zones to 1,000 feet, and (2) eliminating the Clean Water Act (CWA) {section}316(1) variance. Both of these proposed changes were included in S. 1081, a 1991 Senate bill to reauthorize the CWA. The bill would not have provided for grandfathering plants already using the variance or mixing zones larger than 1000 feet. Each of the two changes to the existing thermal discharge requirements were independently evaluated. Power companies were asked what they would do if these two changes were imposed. Most plants affected by the proposed changes would retrofit cooling towers and some would retrofit diffusers. Assuming that all affected plants would proportionally follow the same options as the surveyed plants, the estimated capital cost of retrofitting cooling towers or diffusers at all affected plants ranges from $21.4 to 24.4 billion. Both cooling towers and diffusers exert a 1%-5.8% energy penalty on a plant`s output. Consequently, the power companies must generate additional power if they install those technologies. The estimated cost of the additional power ranges from $10 to 18.4 billion over 20 years. Generation of the extra power would emit over 8 million tons per year of additional carbon dioxide. Operation of the new cooling towers would cause more than 1.5 million gallons per minute of additional evaporation. Neither the restricted mixing zone size nor the elimination of the {section}316(1) variance was adopted into law. More recent proposed changes to the Clean Water Act have not included either of these provisions, but in the future, other Congresses might attempt to reintroduce these types of changes.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/192458}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 1995},
month = {Sun Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 1995}
}

Conference:
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