Document n9745gwQ5g0Jmd6XNzeN6xgp1

06 1: P.O. Box 321 Oklahoma City, OK 73101- 0321 405.553.30130 OGE.com March 31, 2025 U.S. Environmental Agency Via email o: airaction@epa.gov Re: Request for Presidential Exemption: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units Review of the Residual Risk and Technology Review: Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, Sooner Unit 1 and Sooner Unit 2 (ORIS 6095), Muskogee Unit 6 (ORIS 2952), River Valley Common Stack CS 1 (ORIS 10671) Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company ("OG&E") appreciates the opportunity to provide this recommendation and respectfully requests that EPA consider and grant the exemption requested below. OG&E is an Oklahoma Corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of OGE Energy Corp. with plant, property, and other assets dedicated to the production, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy to approximately 907,000 wholesale and retail customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas, other electric utility companies, municipalities, rural electric cooperatives and other market participants. OG&E owns and operates approximately 6,921 MW of generation capacity, including four electric generating units that are subject to requirements established under the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units Review of the Residual Risk and Technology Review, commonly referred to as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards ("MATS Rule"), codified at 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart UUUUU. Summary of Request As provided for in Clean Air Act Section 112(i)(4), OG&E is requesting a two-year exemption from compliance with the MATS Rule. We believe that required technology will not be available for the four OG&E coal-fired electric generating units ("EGU") listed below and that an exemption is in the national security interests of the United States. Emissions standards or limitation subject to the request: 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart UUUUU -- EPA's final rule amending the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants ("NESHAP") for coal- and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units ("EGUs") -- i.e., the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards ("Final Rule"), 89 Fed. Reg. 38,508 (May 7, 2024), Facilities affected - the following four EGUs: Sooner Unit 1 and Sooner Unit 2 (ORIS 6095) Muskogee Unit 6 (ORIS 2952) River Valley Common Stack CS 1 (ORIS 10671) Length of Compliance Period Requested: Two years, to July 6, 2029 1 Sierra Club FOIA 2025-EPA-04883 ED_018388_00000092-00001 SC_EVERSPLIT0024986 Background Before revision in 2024, the MATS regulation allowed compliance to be demonstrated with quarterly reference method testing, which was OG&E's method of choke for many years. This methodology involves mobilizing a crew of individuals to extract from each MATS-affected EGU a sample of exhaust gas for analysis to determine its PM concentration for comparison with the emission standard. The Final Rule now requires that compliance be demonstrated only with a particulate matter continuous emission monitoring system ("PM CEMS") for each of the four units Ex. 4 CBI : Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI Sierra Club FOIA 2025-EPA-04883 ED_018388_00000092-00002 SC_EVERSPLIT0024987 Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI :As EPA acknowledged in the Fact Sheet' accompanying the Final Rule, approximately two-thirds of the existing coal-fired generating fleet will need to install PM CEMS in the next 24 months.: Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI Ex. 4 CBI U.S. EPA, Fact Sheet, EPA's Final Rule to Strengthen and Update the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Power Plants, at 2 ("As noted above, the final rule also requires that existing coal- and oil-fired EGUs utilize CEMS to demonstrate compliance with the fPM emission standard. EPA estimates that approximately two-thirds of the existing coal-fired generating fleet are not currently utilizing PM CEMS.", available at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-04/fact-sheet_mats-rtr-final_rule_2024.pdf. Sierra Club FOIA 2025-EPA-04883 ED_01 8388_00000092-00003 SC_EVERSPLIT0024988 An Exemption is in the National Security Interest President Trump has indicated in recent Executive Orders that "current inadequate development of domestic energy resources," "insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation," "ensuring that an abundant supply of reliable energy is readily accessible," and "high energy costs" all relate to national security interests. National security interests are specifically called out in two Executive Orders. Section 1 of Executive Order 14154: Unleashing American Energy, "regulations...have limited the generation of reliable and affordable electricity...while weakening our national security."2 Section 1 of Executive Order 14192: Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, "It is the policy of my Administration to significantly reduce the private expenditures required to comply with Federal regulations to secure America's...national security..."3 The four electric generating units addressed in our request operate regularly to provide reliable electric generation and critical electric grid support in Oklahoma and throughout the central U.S. As a member of the Southwest Power Pool ("SPP")4, OG&E provides affordable electricity into the SPP Integrated Marketplace, which is widely recognized as highly economic.5 Ex. 4 CBI Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, 90 Fed. Reg. 8353 (Jan. 29, 2025). Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, 90 Fed. Reg. 9055 (Jan. 31, 2025) 4 The Southwest Power Pool is a regional transmission organization (RTO): a nonprofit corporation mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure reliable supplies of power, adequate transmission infrastructure and competitive wholesale electricity prices on behalf of its members. 5 The Integrated Marketplace launched in 2014, replacing the Energy Imbalance Service (EIS) market. It includes a day-ahead market with transmission congestion rights, a reliability unit commitment process, a real-time balancing market replacing the EIS market, and the incorporation of price-based operating reserve procurement. SPP's own analysis showed its markets provide participants with net savings of $744.3 million annually. Sierra Club FOIA 2025-EPA-04883 ED_018388_00000092-00004 SC_EVERSPLIT0024989 Ex. 4 CBI compliance would be in the national security interest. :Therefore, an exemption from Adoption by Reference OG&E's parent company, OGE Energy Corp., is a member of the Class of '85 Regulatory Response Group ("Class of '85"). OG&E adopts by reference Class of '85's recommendations on the need for a two-year Presidential Exemption from compliance with EPA's Final Rule. If you have questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. r") Robert F. Benham Director, Environmental Operations Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company Sierra Club FOIA 2025-EPA-04883 ED_018388_00000092-00005 SC_EVERSPLIT0024990