Analysis - The Institute for Southern Studies

Benefit category
Exhibit 5C-5
Estimate of Annual Baseline Lifecycle Benefits from CCR Beneficial Use
(Based on 2005 CCR beneficial use tonnage)
Physical quantity of environmental benefits for
Unit monetization
Estimated benefits
($millions per year)
48.5 million tons annual CCR beneficial use w/out mining application* values (2009$)**
6. SOx – sulfur oxides 23,900 metric tons emissions avoided $62,375 per metric ton $1,491
7. PM – particulate matter 9,704 metric tons emissions avoided $486,312 per metric ton $4,719
8. Particles non-specified 26,200 metric tons emissions avoided $486,312 per metric ton $12,741
9. Hg - mercury 0.584 metric tons emissions avoided Not estimated Not estimated
10. Pb - lead 0.656 metric tons emissions avoided Not estimated Not estimated
Subtotal (3 to 10) = $19,502
Subtotal air pollution savings excluding SOx & excluding mine-filling use = $18,011
C. Other Environmental Savings
11. Waterborne wastes
2,446 short tons waste generation avoided
(SM + BOD + COD + Cu + Hg + Pb + Se)
Not estimated
Not estimated
12. Solid waste 27,991 short tons waste generation avoided Not estimated Not estimated
Total (1 to 12) = $24,471
Total annual lifecycle benefits (excluding SOx & excluding mine-filling use) =
$22,980
($474/ton)
Notes:
* Physical quantity of environmental benefits are based on only two of the 14 beneficial use industrial applications (i.e., 15.0 million tons per year fly ash CCR used in
concrete, plus 8.2 million tons per year FGD CCR used in wallboard). These estimates are from Exhibit 5-3 (page 5-6) of “Waste and Materials-Flow Benchmark
Sector Report: Beneficial Use of Secondary Materials – Coal Combustion Products,” prepared by Industrial Economics Inc for the EPA Office of Solid Waste, 12 Feb
2008; available at http://www.epa.gov/osw/partnerships/c2p2/pubs/benuse07.pdf. This 2008 reference report does not provide environmental impact estimates for the
other 12 beneficial use industrial applications.
** Unit monetary values applied for monetization are from the following sources:
Row 1 & Row 2: 2007 values from Exhibit 5-3 (page 5-6) of the Industrial Economics Inc reference report. Unit values updated for this RIA from 2007 to 2009
using NASA’s Gross Domestic Product Deflator Inflation Calculator at http://cost.jsc.nasa.gov/inflateGDP.html
Row 3: Based on the September 2009 interim social cost of carbon (i.e., interim SCC) from Table III.H.6-3, page 29617 of the joint EPA and DOT-NHTSA
“Proposed Rulemaking to Establish Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards,” Federal Register,
Volume 74, No. 186, 28 Sept 2009. The value applied in this RIA is the $19.50 per ton median value from the $5 to $56 per ton range displayed in the 2007
column in that source. Furthermore, this RIA updated the 2007$ median value from 2007 to 2009 dollars using the NASA Gross Domestic Product Deflator
Inflation Calculator at http://cost.jsc.nasa.gov/inflateGDP.html. EPA is aware that final SCC values were published on March 9, 2010 in conjunction with a
Department of Energy final rule. EPA intends to use the final SCC values for the CCR final rule RIA. The final SCC values are published in the Department of
Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Building Technologies Program, "Small Electric Motors Final Rule Technical Support Document: Chapter 16 -
Regulatory Impact Analysis", March 9, 2010 at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/sem_finalrule_tsd.html).
Rows 4-10: Unit values from the report “The Influence of Location, Source, and Emission Type in Estimates of the Human Health Benefits of Reducing a Ton of
Air Pollution” by Neal Fann, Charles Fulcher and Bryan Hubbell, in Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, Volume 2, No.3, Sept 2009, pages 169-176. The dollar
values from this report were updated from 2006 to 2009 using NASA’s Gross Domestic Product Deflator Inflation Calculator at
http://cost.jsc.nasa.gov/inflateGDP.html
Rows 12-13: Waterborne waste and solid waste generation avoided benefits were not monetized in the 2008 Industrial Economics Inc. reference study cited above.
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