Earlier this month, staff of the Department of Environmental Quality recommended approving the plan.
The ruling repeals the 2009 BART rules for Boardman, and implements new control requirements that are consistent with the regional haze rules (see "Oregon DEQ Staff Recommends Boardman 2020 Plan," Dec. 7, 2010).
PGE will now proceed with acquisition and installation of the necessary controls, beginning with low-NOx burners and mercury controls in July 2011.
The new controls are expected to reduce NOx emissions by about 50 percent and permitted levels of SO2 emissions by 75 percent. A separate set of rules also requires the addition of controls to reduce the plant's mercury emissions by 90 percent. All coal-related emissions from the Boardman facility will be reduced to zero with the end of coal-fired operations in 2020.
The combined capital cost of the required controls is currently estimated at about $60 million.
PGE owns 65 percent of the Boardman plant. Co-owners include Bank of America Leasing LLC, with 15 percent; Idaho Power, with 10 percent; and Power Resources Cooperative, with 10 percent.
