C.R.S. Section 40-3.2-204
Emission control plans

  • role of the department of public health and environment
  • timing of emission reductions
  • approval

(1)

On or before August 15, 2010, and in coordination with current or expected requirements of the federal act and the state act, all rate-regulated utilities that own or operate coal-fired electric generating units located in Colorado shall submit to the commission an emission reduction plan for emissions from those units.

(2)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

The plan filed under this section shall cover a minimum of nine hundred megawatts or fifty percent of the utility’s coal-fired electric generating units in Colorado, whichever is smaller. Except as set forth in section 40-3.2-206, the coal-fired capacity covered under the plan filed under this section shall not include any coal-fired capacity that the utility has already announced that it plans to retire prior to January 1, 2015. At the utility’s discretion, the plan may include some or all of the following elements:

(I)

New emission control equipment for oxides of nitrogen and other pollutants;

(II)

Retirement of coal-fired units, if the retired coal-fired units are replaced by natural gas-fired electric generation or other low-emitting resources as defined in section 40-3.2-206, including energy efficiency;

(III)

Conversion of coal-fired generation to run on natural gas;

(IV)

Long-term fuel supply agreements;

(V)

New natural gas pipelines and other supporting gas infrastructure;

(VI)

Increased utilization of existing gas-fired generating capacity;

(VII)

New transmission lines and other supporting transmission infrastructure;

(VIII)

Emission control equipment that is required to be installed at affected units prior to or in conjunction with any retirement, conversion, or emission control equipment retrofit set forth under the plan in order to limit any pollutant other than oxides of nitrogen; and

(IX)

Any other capital, fuel, and operations and maintenance expenditures appropriate to support the implementation of the plan.

(b)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(I)

Prior to filing the plan, the utility shall consult with the department and shall work with the department in good faith to design a plan to meet the current and reasonably foreseeable requirements of the federal act and state law in a cost-effective and flexible manner.

(II)

The commission shall provide the department an opportunity to:

(A)

Comment on the air quality, all other air pollutants, and other emission reductions of the plan; and

(B)

Evaluate and determine whether the plan is consistent with the current and reasonably foreseeable requirements of the federal act.

(III)

In commenting upon the utility’s plan, the department shall determine whether any new or repowered electric generating unit proposed under the plan, other than a peaking facility utilized less than twenty percent on an annual basis or a facility that captures and sequesters more than seventy percent of emissions not subject to a national ambient air quality standard or a hazardous air pollutant standard, will achieve emission rates equivalent to or less than a combined-cycle natural gas generating unit.

(IV)

The commission shall not approve a plan except after an evidentiary hearing and unless the department has determined that the plan is consistent with the current and reasonably foreseeable requirements of the federal act.

(c)

The plan shall include a schedule that would result in full implementation of the plan on or before December 31, 2017. The schedule may include interim milestones. The utility shall design the schedule to protect system reliability, control overall cost, and assure consistency with the requirements of the federal act.

(d)

The plan shall set forth the costs associated with activities identified in the plan, including the planning, development, construction, and operation of elements identified pursuant to subparagraphs (I) to (IX) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2), as well as the costs of any shutdown, decommissioning, or repowering of existing coal-fired electric generating units that are set forth in the plan.

Source: Section 40-3.2-204 — Emission control plans - role of the department of public health and environment - timing of emission reductions - approval, https://leg.­colorado.­gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-40.­pdf (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).

40‑3.2‑101
Legislative declaration 40‑3.2‑102
Recovery of air quality improvement costs 40‑3.2‑103
Gas distribution utility demand-side management programs - recovery of costs - reports 40‑3.2‑104
Electricity utility demand-side management programs - rules - annual report - definition 40‑3.2‑104.3
Eliminating incentives for gas service to properties - gas line extension allowances - exemptions - definitions 40‑3.2‑104.4
Colorado energy office gas investment asset depreciation study - third-party evaluation - commission rules 40‑3.2‑104.5
Customer disconnection from investor-owned gas utility service - rules 40‑3.2‑104.6
Commission study on beneficial electrification - repeal 40‑3.2‑105.5
Labor standards for gas DSM projects 40‑3.2‑105.6
Labor standards for beneficial electrification projects 40‑3.2‑105.7
Labor standards for state thermal energy network and thermal energy system projects - definitions 40‑3.2‑106
Costs of pollution in utility planning - rules 40‑3.2‑107
Costs of methane pollution in gas DSM program planning - rules - definitions 40‑3.2‑108
Clean heat targets - legislative declaration - definitions - plans - rules - reports 40‑3.2‑109
Beneficial electrification plans for electric utilities - definition - rules - recovery of costs - report 40‑3.2‑201
Short title 40‑3.2‑202
Legislative declaration 40‑3.2‑203
Definitions 40‑3.2‑204
Emission control plans - role of the department of public health and environment - timing of emission reductions - approval 40‑3.2‑205
Review - approval 40‑3.2‑206
Coal plant retirements - replacement resources 40‑3.2‑207
Cost recovery - legislative declaration 40‑3.2‑208
Air quality planning 40‑3.2‑209
Early reductions 40‑3.2‑210
Exemption from limits on voluntary emission reductions
Green check means up to date. Up to date

Current through Fall 2024

§ 40-3.2-204’s source at colorado​.gov