On November 4th, the Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public listening session in Boston to solicit ideas and input from the public and stakeholders about the best Clean Air Act approaches to reducing carbon pollution from existing power plants. This is one of eleven sessions being held around the country.

This is the next step in the President’s Climate Action plan following the recent issuance of carbon pollution standards for new power plants on October 10th.

The Clean Air Act gives both EPA and states a role in reducing air pollution from power plants that are already in operation. The law directs EPA to establish guidelines, which states use to design their own programs to reduce emissions. Before proposing guidelines, EPA must consider how power plants with a variety of different configurations would be able to reduce carbon pollution in a cost-effective way.

The feedback from these 11 public listening sessions will play an important role in helping EPA develop smart, cost-effective guidelines that reflect the latest and best information available. The agency will seek additional public input during the notice and comment period once it issues a proposal, by June 2014.

• Registration for the Boston listening session

EPA Contact: Dan Abrams – (617) 918-1067