The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently submitted a Feasibility Report to the state Legislature concerning the state’s potential compliance with U.S. EPA’s 111(d) rule. The report includes an analysis addressing eleven factors identified by the legislature and incorporates comprehensive research from an additional report by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Marshall University and Energy Ventures Analysis.
The report concludes that ultimately, West Virginia could feasibly comply with U.S. EPA’s rule, but only if the Legislature amends the law it passed in 2015 (H.B. 2004) that restricts the state’s use of carbon trading as a compliance option. DEP found that while projections show that compliance with EPA’s section 111(d) rule is feasible from an economic standpoint, West Virginia will need to participate in a market for trading allowances or emission rate credits.
