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Electric Power Generation,
Distribution, and Transmission Industry |
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Agencies |
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Other federal agencies are involved with many aspects of
electric power generation, transmission and distribution. For example, new technologies being developed through
the US Department of Energy (DOE) Fossil Energy program could
virtually eliminate the sulfur, nitrogen, and mercury pollutants released when
coal is burned. It may also be possible to capture greenhouse gases emitted
from coal-fired power plants and prevent them from contributing to global
warming concerns. Other Federal agencies with
jurisdiction and/or safety and health programs pertaining to the electric power generation, transmission, and distribution industry are:
Department of Energy (DOE)
- Department of Energy (DOE).
Today, more than half of the electricity generated in the United States comes
from coal. For the foreseeable future, coal will continue to be the dominant
fuel used for electric power production. The low cost and abundance of coal
is one of the primary reasons why consumers in the United States benefit from
some of the lowest electricity rates of any free-market economy.
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Office of Nuclear Safety and Environment. The Office of Nuclear Safety and Environment is
responsible for the nuclear safety requirements in the following rules:
Note: These are NOT OSHA regulations. However, they do provide guidance from
their originating organizations related to worker protection.
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10 CFR Part 820,
Procedural rules of DOE nuclear activities
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10 CFR Part 830,
Nuclear safety management
- 10 CFR Part 834, Radiation protection of the public and the environment
- See
Rules, for more information on DOE's current rulemaking.
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10 CFR Part 835,
Occupational radiation protection
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10 CFR 707,
Workplace substance abuse programs at DOE sites
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10 CFR 708,
DOE contractor employee protection program
- Documented Safety Analysis.
Subpart B of
10 CFR Part 830,
Nuclear Safety Management, requires contractors and operators of
hazard category 1, 2, and 3 DOE nuclear facilities to develop and maintain a
Safety Basis and to perform work in accordance with that Safety Basis. The
major components of the Safety Basis for a nuclear facility include the DSA
and the
Technical Safety Requirements (TSRs).
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Health and Safety Programs.
The Office of Health and Safety Programs provides policy and guidance to
protect the health and safety of current DOE Federal and contractor employees.
Note: These are NOT OSHA regulations. However, they do provide guidance
from their originating organizations related to worker protection.
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Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS).
Develops DOE-wide environmental
protection policies and strategies for protecting the public and the
environment and for achieving environmental compliance with internal and
external environmental requirements.
- Environmental Policy and
Guidance. Search the latest about Federal regulatory initiatives and view
over 2200 documents and Federal Register notices.
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Office of Fossil Energy.
Directs such priority projects as pollution-free coal plants,
more productive oil and gas fields, and the continuing readiness of
federal emergency oil stockpiles.
Fossil fuels supply 85% of the nation's energy.
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FutureGen - Tomorrow's Pollution-Free Power Plant. FutureGen is
an initiative to build the world's first integrated sequestration and hydrogen
production research power plant. The $1 billion dollar project is intended to
create the world's first zero-emissions fossil fuel plant. When operational,
the prototype will be the cleanest fossil fuel fired power plant in the world.
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Pollution Control Innovations for Power Plants.
Supports the President's Clear
Skies Initiative through the Innovations for Existing Plants activity and the
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air Interstate Rule and Clean Air
Mercury Rule by developing technologies ready for commercial demonstration by
2007 with the potential to reduce, for all coals: mercury by 50-70% at 50-75%
of today's cost; NOx to less than 0.15 pounds per million Btus at 50-75%
of the cost of selective catalytic reactors (SCR); and PM2.5 particulate
matter by 99.99%.
- Carbon
Sequestration. Identifies roughly one third of the United States' carbon emissions
come from power plants and other large point sources and to stabilize and
ultimately reduce concentrations of this greenhouse gas, it will be necessary
to employ carbon sequestration - carbon capture, separation and storage or
reuse. Specifically, the program has these elements:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and
oil. FERC which is an independent agency also reviews proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG)
terminals and interstate natural gas pipelines as well as licensing hydropower
projects.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Regulates civilian use of nuclear materials. NRC is an independent agency
established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 headed by a five-member
Commission. Its
mission is to regulate the nation's civilian use of byproduct, source, and
special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and
safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the
environment.
Note: These are NOT OSHA regulations. However, they do provide guidance from
their originating organizations related to worker protection.
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10 CFR,
Nuclear regulatory commission.
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Ways To Access NRC's Regulations. Provides access to regulations and
guidance.
- Basic References.
Includes links to basic references with regulatory information, key guidance
documents, a glossary, general information about NRC and newsletters.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Establishes guidelines for protecting the public from
radiation exposure, such as when to evacuate or relocate citizens. EPA also
monitors and assesses radioactivity in the environment from an accident to
define the extent of exposure from that accident. In addition, as the Lead
Federal Agency, EPA coordinates the Federal response to an emergency if a
nuclear accident occurs in a foreign country or if a domestic emergency
involves unregulated material.
- EPA Clean Energy
Programs. Provides objective information
about Clean Energy technologies, policy options, create networks between
the public and private sectors and provide technical assistance.
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Stationary Internal
Combustion Sources. Includes information on emissions factors which
are representative values that attempts to relate the quantity of a pollutant
released to the atmosphere with an activity associated with the release of
that pollutant. The full Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors,
Volume I: Stationary Point and Area Sources, also known as AP 42, is
available for download. Stationary Internal Combustion Sources
is Chapter 3 and includes information on emission factors in gas turbines.
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Stationary Gas Turbines. EPA, (2000, April), 84 KB
PDF,
20 pages. Identifies the
primary pollutants from gas turbine engines are nitrogen oxides (NOX),
carbon monoxide (CO), and to a lesser extent, volatile organic compounds
(VOC). Particulate matter (PM) is also a primary pollutant for gas
turbines using liquid fuels. Trace to low amounts of HAP and sulfurdioxide (SO2) are emitted from gas turbines. Ash and metallic additives in the fuel may
also contribute to PM in the exhaust. Oxides of sulfur (SOX)
will only appear in a significant quantity if heavy oils are fired in the
turbine. Emissions of sulfur compounds, mainly SO2,
are directly related to the sulfur content of the fuel.
- How does
electricity use affect the environment? Identifies electricity
generation as the dominant industrial source of air emissions in the
United States today. Of the total energy consumed in America, about 39% is
used to generate electricity. Fossil fuel-fired power plants are responsible for 67
percent of the nation's sulfur dioxide emissions, 23 percent of nitrogen
oxide emissions, and 40 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions.
There are links to environmental impacts of electricity generation
technologies as well as various energy resources
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Ready to Respond: EPA's Radiological Emergency Preparedness and Response Programs.
Assigns roles to several
Federal agencies that contribute to an emergency response, including the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA's three major
responsibilities in the FRERP flow from the Agency's overall mission: to
protect human health and the environment. FRERP approved in 1985 and
revised in 1996, the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP).
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The Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID). Reports in eGRID 2000, that the average emissions rates in the United
States from natural gas-fired generation are: 1135 lbs/MWh of
carbon dioxide,
0.1 lbs/MWh of
sulfur dioxide, and 1.7 lbs/MWh of
nitrogen oxides.
In the same report, the EPA found that compared to the average air
emissions from coal-fired generation, natural gas produces half as much
carbon dioxide, less than a third as much nitrogen oxides, and one percent
as much sulfur oxides at the power plant. In addition, the process of
extraction, treatment, and transport of the natural gas to the power plant
generates additional emissions.
Department of the Interior (DOI)
- Bureau of Reclamation (BOR).
Manages water and water related resources in the western United States in an
economically and environmentally sound manner for the American people. BOR is an agency in
the US Department of the Interior.
- Dataweb -
Powerplants. The Project Dataweb provides the most current information on Reclamation's projects, facilities, and programs. On its power plant page,
there is information available on installed capacity, initial year of
operation, age, net generation, rated heat, plant factor and power plant
performance is available for all major hydroelectric power plants as well as
photo, contact information, plant history and authorization.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
- Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Has as its threefold mission
to provide affordable and reliable power, promote sustainable economic
development, and act as a steward of the Valley's natural resources.
The TVA is a federal corporation and the nation’s largest public power
company. It operates fossil-fuel, nuclear, and hydropower plants, and
also produces energy from renewable sources. It manages the nation’s
fifth-largest river system to minimize flood risk, produce power, maintain
navigation, provide recreational opportunities, and protect water quality in
the 41,000-square-mile watershed.
- TVA Reservoirs and Power Plants.
Provides an interactive map of the entire Tennessee Valley Authority power system,
including fossil and nuclear plants, dams and reservoirs. Details are provided
on each facility and how they interact.
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