Hatfield¡¯s Ferry Power Station, a Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant, stopped producing electricity in 2013. Its closure came in a wave of coal-plant shutdowns triggered by competition from cheaper, cleaner natural gas and incentives in the U.S. Clean Air Act.
But the facility¡¯s legacy of smog pollution continued long after it closed.
That¡¯s because a loophole in clean-air regulations allowed Hatfield¡¯s Ferry to collect emissions allowances under a cap-and-trade program for five years after it shut down. The plant¡¯s owner then sold those credits to other plants, which can use them to stay in compliance when they exceed their own regulatory budget of allowances. Among the beneficiaries: the biggest emitter of smog-causing gas in America¡¯s power sector.
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