| Environmental Matters | Environmental Matters Indiana Senate Bill 251 Senate Bill 251 is also applicable to federal environmental mandates impacting SIGECO electric operations in addition to the impact on its gas utility operations. The Company continues with its ongoing evaluation of the impact Senate Bill 251 may have on its operations, including applicability of the stricter regulations the EPA is currently pursuing involving carbon and air quality, fly ash disposal, cooling tower intake facilities, waste water discharges, and greenhouse gases. These issues are further discussed below. Air Quality Cross-State Air Pollution Rule In July 2011, the EPA finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). CSAPR was the EPA’s response to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s (the Court) remand of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). CAIR was originally established in 2005 as an allowance cap and trade program that required reductions from coal-burning power plants for NOx emissions beginning January 1, 2009 and SO2 emissions beginning January 1, 2010, with a second phase of reductions in 2015. In an effort to address the Court’s finding that CAIR did not adequately ensure attainment of pollutants in certain downwind states due to unlimited trading of SO2 and NOx allowances, CSAPR reduced the ability of facilities to meet emission reduction targets through allowance trading. CSAPR reductions were to be achieved with initial step reductions beginning January 1, 2012, and final compliance to be achieved in 2014. After a series of legal challenges, the United States Supreme Court upheld CSAPR in April 2014, and the EPA finalized a new deadline schedule for entities that must comply, with CSAPR’s first phase caps starting in 2015 and 2016, and the second phase in 2017. The Company is in full compliance with all requirements of CSAPR. Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS) Rule On December 21, 2011, the EPA finalized the utility MATS Rule. The MATS Rule sets emission limits for hazardous air pollutants for existing and new coal-fired power plants and identifies the following broad categories of hazardous air pollutants: mercury, non-mercury hazardous air pollutants (primarily arsenic, chromium, cobalt, and selenium), and acid gases (hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride). The rule imposes mercury emission limits for two sub-categories of coal and proposed surrogate limits for non-mercury and acid gas hazardous air pollutants. Reductions are to be achieved within three years of publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. MATS compliance was required to commence April 16, 2015, and the Company is in full compliance with all requirements of MATS. Legal challenges to the MATS Rule continue. In July 2014, a coalition of twenty-one states, including Indiana, filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the decision of the appellate court that found that the EPA appropriately based its decision to list coal and oil fired generation units as a source of the pollutants at issue solely on those pollutants’ impact on public health. On June 29, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the appellate court decision on the basis of the EPA’s failure to consider costs before determining whether it was appropriate and necessary to regulate steam electric generating units under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act. The Court did not vacate the rule, but remanded the MATS rule back to the appellate court for further proceedings consistent with the opinion. The parties to the litigation are expected to be asked by the appellate court for briefing as to whether the court should vacate the rule, or leave it in place while the EPA supplements the rulemaking record pursuant to the Supreme Court opinion. Vectren continues to operate in full compliance with the MATS rule during the pendency of the appellate court remand which could take several months. Notice of Violation for A.B. Brown Power Plant The Company received a NOV from the EPA in November 2011 pertaining to its A.B. Brown generating station. The NOV asserts that when the facility was equipped with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems, the correct permits were not obtained or the best available control technology to control incidental sulfuric acid mist was not installed. The Company reached a settlement in principle with the EPA to resolve the NOV. That settlement was contemplated in the plan filed and approved by the IURC on January 28, 2015 in the SIGECO Electric Environmental Compliance Filing. Ozone NAAQS On November 26, 2014, the EPA proposed to tighten the current National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone from the current standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to a level with the range of 65 to 70 ppb. The EPA has stated that it intends to finalize the rule by October 2015. Upon finalization, the EPA will then determine whether a particular region is in attainment with the new standard. While it is possible that counties in southwest Indiana could be declared in non-attainment with the new standard, and thus may have an effect on future economic development activities in the Company's service territory, the Company does not anticipate any significant compliance cost impacts from the determination given its previous investment in SCR technology for NOx control on its units. Water Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires that generating facilities use the “best technology available” (BTA) to minimize adverse environmental impacts on a body of water. More specifically, Section 316(b) is concerned with impingement and entrainment of aquatic species in once-through cooling water intake structures used at electric generating facilities. A final rule was issued by the EPA on May 19, 2014. The final rule does not mandate cooling water tower retrofits but requires a state level case-by-case assessment of BTA for each facility. The final rule lists seven presumptive technologies which would qualify as BTA. These technologies range from intake screen modifications to cooling water tower retrofits. Ecological and technology assessment studies must be completed prior to determining BTA for the Company’s facilities. To comply, the Company believes that capital investments will likely be in the range of $4 million to $8 million . Costs for compliance with these final regulations should qualify as federally mandated regulatory requirements and be recoverable under Indiana Senate Bill 251 referenced above. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA sets technology-based guidelines for water discharges from new and existing facilities. The EPA is currently in the process of revising the existing steam electric effluent limitation guidelines that set the technology-based water discharge limits for the electric power industry. The EPA is focusing its rulemaking on wastewater generated primarily by pollution control equipment necessitated by the comprehensive air regulations. The EPA released proposed rules on April 19, 2013 however the rule is not yet finalized. At this time, it is not possible to estimate what potential costs may be required to meet these new water discharge limits, however costs for compliance with these regulations should qualify as federally mandated regulatory requirements and be recoverable under Senate Bill 251 referenced above. Conclusions Regarding Air and Water Regulations To comply with Indiana’s implementation plan of the Clean Air Act, the Company obtained authority from the IURC to invest in clean coal technology. Using this authorization, the Company invested approximately $411 million starting in 2001 with the last equipment being placed into service on January 1, 2010. The pollution control equipment included SCR systems, fabric filters, and an SO2 scrubber at its generating facility that is jointly owned with Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. SCR technology is the most effective method of reducing NOx emissions where high removal efficiencies are required and fabric filters control particulate matter emissions. The unamortized portion of the $411 million clean coal technology investment was included in rate base for purposes of determining SIGECO’s electric base rates approved in the latest base rate order obtained April 27, 2011. SIGECO’s coal-fired generating fleet is 100 percent scrubbed for SO2 and 90 percent controlled for NOx. Utilization of the Company’s NOx and SO2 allowances can be impacted as regulations are revised and implemented. Most of these allowances were granted to the Company at zero cost; therefore, any reduction in carrying value that could result from future changes in regulations would be immaterial. As noted previously, on January 28, 2015, the IURC issued an Order approving the Company’s request for approval of capital investments on its coal-fired generation units to comply with new EPA mandates related to mercury and air toxin standards effective in 2015 and to address an outstanding NOV from the EPA. The total investment is estimated to be between $75 and $85 million, roughly half of which will be made to control mercury in both air and water emissions, and the remaining investment will be made to address the issues raised in the NOV proceeding on the increase in sulfur trioxide emissions. Coal Ash Waste Disposal & Ash Ponds In December 2014 the EPA released its final Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule which regulates ash as non-hazardous material under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). On April 17, 2015, the final rule was published in the Federal Register. The final rule allows beneficial reuse of ash and the Company will continue to reuse a majority of its ash. Legislation is currently being considered by Congress that would provide for enforcement of the federal program by states. Under the final CCR rule, the Company is required to complete a series of integrity assessments and groundwater monitoring studies to determine whether one or more of the Company's ash ponds can continue in service, or whether a pond must be retrofitted with liners or closed and bottom ash handling conversions completed. The Company estimates capital expenditures to comply with the alternatives in the final rule could range from approximately $30 million for final capping and monitoring costs if the ponds are permitted to continue to operate to the end of the life of the generating units, to $100 million if existing ponds at both F.B. Culley and A.B. Brown generating stations are required to be closed and bottom ash conversions completed at each generating unit. In the second quarter 2015, the Company recorded an asset retirement obligation (ARO) in the amount of $15.6 million which reflects the current present value of the costs to cap the existing ponds at the end of the life of the generating units. The estimated obligation is based on assumptions such as future ash levels, existing life of generating units, compliance assessments within the final rule at future dates, and costs for future construction services. These assumptions and estimations are subject to change in the future and could materially impact the amount of the estimated ARO. It is expected that any costs for compliance with these regulations should qualify as federally mandated regulatory requirements and be recoverable under Senate Bill 251 referenced above. Climate Change In April 2007, the US Supreme Court determined that greenhouse gases (GHG's) meet the definition of "air pollutant" under the Clean Air Act and ordered the EPA to determine whether GHG emissions cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. The endangerment finding was finalized in December 2009, concluding that carbon emissions pose an endangerment to public health and the environment. The EPA has finalized three sets of GHG regulations that apply to the Company’s generating facilities. In 2009, the EPA finalized a mandatory GHG emissions registry which requires the reporting of emissions. The EPA has also finalized a revision to the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting rules which would require facilities that emit 75,000 tons or more of GHG's a year to obtain a PSD permit for new construction or a significant modification of an existing facility. The EPA's PSD and Title V permitting rules for GHG's were upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and in June 2014 the US Supreme Court upheld the regulations with respect to applicability to major sources such as coal-fired power plants that are required to hold PSD construction and Title V air operating permits for other criteria pollutants. In July 2013, the President announced a Climate Action Plan, which called on the EPA to finalize the rule for new construction expeditiously and, by June 2015 finalize, New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for GHG's for existing electric generating units which would apply to the Company's power plants. On June 2, 2014, the EPA proposed its rule for states to regulate CO2 emissions from existing electric generating units. The rule required states to adopt plans to reduce CO2 emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. The proposal set state-specific CO2 emission rate-based CO2 goals (measured in lb CO2/MWh) and guidelines for the development, submission and implementation of state plans to achieve the state goals. These state-specific goals were calculated based upon 2012 average emission rates aggregated for all fossil fuel-based units in the state. For Indiana, the proposal used a 2012 emission rate of 1,923 lb CO2/MWh, and set an interim goal of 1,607 lb CO2/MWh and a final emission goal of 1,531 lb CO2/MWh, or a 20 percent reduction in Indiana’s total CO2 emission rate, that must be met by 2030. Under this proposal, these CO2 emission rate goals do not apply directly to individual units or generating systems, but are instead state goals. As such, the state would be required to establish a framework that would guide how compliance would be met on a statewide basis. Indiana’s interim, or “phase in”, goal of 1,607 lb CO2/MWh must be met as averaged over a ten-year period (2020 - 2029) with progress toward this goal to be demonstrated for every two rolling calendar years starting in 2020, with the first report due in 2022. These individual state goals were based upon the application of four “building blocks” of emission rate improvements identified as the Best System of Emission Reduction, which defines EPA’s authority under Section 111(d). The Company timely filed comments to the Clean Power Plan (CPP) proposal on December 1, 2014. The State of Indiana also filed public comments, asking that the proposal be withdrawn. On July 31, 2014, litigation was filed by the state of Indiana and other parties challenging the rule prior to finalization by the EPA. In June 2015 these consolidated challenges were determined to be premature by the reviewing court, but the court’s decision did not preclude the parties from raising the arguments against the final rulemaking after EPA has published the final CPP in the Federal Register. On August 3, 2015, the EPA released its final CPP which requires a 32 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels. The original proposal in June 2014 called for a 30 percent reduction. The final CPP is significantly different in many respects from the June 2014 proposal. The EPA removed the energy efficiency block in the final rule and increased the assumption related to reliance upon renewables for compliance. In addition to the change in energy efficiency and renewables assumptions, the EPA also incorporated a new emission rate factor as a means of leveling the emission reduction requirements across the states. This resulted in the final emission rate reduction goal for Indiana of 1,242 lb CO2 / MWh to be achieved by 2030, as compared to a goal of 1,531 lb CO2/ MWh as proposed in June of 2014. Final state goals now fall within a narrower, lower range (between 771 lb CO2/MWh and 1305 lb CO2/MWh), with states having higher percentages of coal-fired generation receiving more stringent emission rate goals than those in the original proposal. The new rule also gives states an additional year to submit a state implementation plan, now September of 2018. Under the CPP, states have the flexibility to include energy efficiency and other measures should it choose to implement a state measures plan as provided in the final rule. While states are given an interim goal (1,451 lb CO2/MWh for Indiana), the final rule gives states the flexibility to shape their own emissions reduction glide path over the 2022-29 time period. In the event that a state does not submit a state implementation plan (SIP), the EPA also released a proposed federal implementation plan (FIP), which would be imposed in those states without an approved SIP. The proposed FIP would apply an emission rate requirement directly on affected units. Under the proposed FIP the CO2 emission rate limit for coal-fired units would start at 1671 lbs CO2 / MWh in 2022 and decrease to a final emission rate cap of 1305 lbs CO2 / MWh by 2030. While the FIP emission rate cap appears to be slightly less stringent, the cap would apply directly to affected units and these units would not have the benefit of averaging emission rates with rates from zero-carbon sources as in a SIP. Purchases of emission credits from zero-carbon sources can be made for compliance. Since the FIP has just been proposed, it will be subject to extensive public comments prior to finalization. Indiana is the 5th largest carbon emitter in the nation in tons of CO2 produced from electric generation. In 2013, Indiana’s electric utilities generated 105.6 million tons of CO2. The Company’s share of that total was 6.3 million , or less than 6 percent . Since 2005, the Company’s emissions of CO2 have declined 23 percent (on a tonnage basis). These reductions have come from the retirement of F.B. Culley Unit 1, expiration of municipal contracts, electric conservation and the addition of renewable generation and the installation of more efficient dense pack turbine technology. With respect to renewable generation, in 2008 and 2009, the Company executed long-term purchase power commitments for a total of 80 MW of wind energy. The Company currently has approximately 4 percent of its electricity being provided by clean energy sources due to the long-term wind contracts and landfill gas investment. With respect to CO2 emission rate, since 2005 the Company has lowered its CO2 emission rate (as measured in lbs CO2/MWh) from 1967 lbs CO2/MWh to 1922 lbs CO2/MWh, for a reduction of 3 percent . The Company’s CO2 emission rate of 1922 lbs/MWh is basically the same as the State’s average CO2 emission rate of 1923 lb CO2/MWh. Impact of Legislative Actions & Other Initiatives is Unknown At this time, compliance costs and other effects associated with reductions in GHG emissions or obtaining renewable energy sources remain uncertain. The Company has gathered preliminary estimates of the costs to control GHG emissions. A preliminary investigation demonstrated costs to comply would be significant, first with regard to operating expenses and later for capital expenditures as technology becomes available to control GHG emissions. However, these compliance cost estimates were based on highly uncertain assumptions, including allowance prices if a cap and trade approach were employed, and energy efficiency targets. The Company will undertake a detailed review of the requirements of the CPP and the proposed FIP and commence a review of potential compliance options for Vectren’s affected units. In 2016 the Company will file its next integrated resource plan that will model compliance assumptions and costs and evaluate possible compliance alternatives. The Company will also continue to remain engaged with the State of Indiana to assess the final rule and to develop a plan that is the least cost to its customers. Costs to purchase allowances that cap GHG emissions or expenditures made to control emissions or lower carbon emission rates should be considered a federally mandated cost of providing electricity, and as such, the Company believes such costs and expenditures should be recoverable from customers through Senate Bill 251 as referenced above or Senate Bill 29, which was used by the Company to recover its initial pollution control investments. Manufactured Gas Plants In the past, the Company operated facilities to manufacture natural gas. Given the availability of natural gas transported by pipelines, these facilities have not been operated for many years. Under current environmental laws and regulations, those that owned or operated these facilities may now be required to take remedial action if certain contaminants are found above the regulatory thresholds. In the Indiana Gas service territory, the existence, location, and certain general characteristics of 26 gas manufacturing and storage sites have been identified for which the Company may have some remedial responsibility. A remedial investigation/ feasibility study (RI/FS) was completed at one of the sites under an agreed upon order between Indiana Gas and the IDEM, and a Record of Decision was issued by the IDEM in January 2000. The remaining sites have been submitted to the IDEM's Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP). The Company has identified its involvement in five manufactured gas plant sites in SIGECO’s service territory, all of which are currently enrolled in the IDEM’s VRP. The Company is currently conducting some level of remedial activities, including groundwater monitoring at certain sites. The Company has accrued the estimated costs for further investigation, remediation, groundwater monitoring, and related costs for the sites. While the total costs that may be incurred in connection with addressing these sites cannot be determined at this time, the Company has recorded cumulative costs that it has incurred or reasonably expects to incur totaling approximately $43.4 million ( $23.2 million at Indiana Gas and $20.2 million at SIGECO). The estimated accrued costs are limited to the Company’s share of the remediation efforts and are therefore net of exposures of other potentially responsible parties (PRP). With respect to insurance coverage, Indiana Gas has received approximately $20.8 million from all known insurance carriers under insurance policies in effect when these plants were in operation. Likewise, SIGECO has settlement agreements with all known insurance carriers and has received to date approximately $14.3 million of the expected $15.8 million in insurance recoveries. The costs the Company expects to incur are estimated by management using assumptions based on actual costs incurred, the timing of expected future payments, and inflation factors, among others. While the Company’s utilities have recorded all costs which they presently expect to incur in connection with activities at these sites, it is possible that future events may require remedial activities which are not presently foreseen and those costs may not be subject to PRP or insurance recovery. As of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , approximately $3.4 million and $3.6 million , respectively, of accrued, but not yet spent, costs are included in Other Liabilities related to the Indiana Gas and SIGECO sites. |
