Shutdowns May Increase Emissions

Power plants may emit higher amounts of pollution during lapses in federal monitoring and enforcement, such as during a government shutdown, according to college researchers. A study published in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists details the short-term effects of enforcement of federal environmental laws and regulations on power plant air emissions.

Using data from the 2018-2019 federal government shutdown, which lasted 35 days, as a natural experiment, the researchers found that coal-fired power plants increased daily emissions of particulate matter—tiny solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in the air—during the furlough of federal employees.

This increase may be caused by the temporary reduction of efforts from the power plants to limit pollution, according to Ruohao Zhang, assistant professor of agricultural economics and lead author on the paper.

At the same time, Zhang explained, the researchers found no detectable increase in daily emissions of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides. This was likely because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Markets Division has monitored and enforced limitations on these pollutants continuously since 1995, so they were not affected by the government shutdown.

Zhang said the findings are important because even small increases of pollution can affect human health. They also suggest that inspections and enforcement efforts are crucial for mitigating pollution both in the long run and on a daily basis.

—Katie Bohn