That's because you don't know how to listen, as you've proven so many time here.
In its 1977 amendments to the Clean Air Act, Congress largely exempted existing coalfired
power plants from pollution-control requirements, probably on the theory that many of
these plants were due for retirement.
See Jonathan Remy Nash & Richard L. Revesz,
Grandfathering and Environmental Regulation: The Law and Economics of New Source Review,
101 NW. U. L. REV. 1677, 1681–2 (2007) (noting that although the legislative history is
not explicit on this point, it “strongly suggests that Congress in 1970 expected grandfathering
of these sources to be only temporary”). The mandated controls on new plants were so expensive,
however, that many plant owners elected to extend the lives of the old plants. A highpitched,
decades-long battle ensued over what sorts of improvements to old plants would expose
them to the control requirements established for new plants.
See id. at 1707–18; Shi-Ling
Hsu,
The Real Problem with New Source Review, 36 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 10,095,
10,096–98 (2006); Edan Rotenberg,
Ending Both Forms of Grandfathering in Environmental
Law, 37 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 10,717 (2007); Paul Krugman,
Every Breath You
Take, N.Y. TIMES, Nov. 26, 2002, at A27.
During the
Federal Assault Weapons Ban, certain firearms made before the ban's enactment were legal to own. Automatic weapons that were manufactured and registered before the
Firearm Owners Protection Act (enacted May 19, 1986) may legally be transferred to civilians.
Tolled highways that existed before the
Interstate Highway System are exempt from
Interstate standards despite being designated as Interstate highways. Many such toll roads (particularly the
Pennsylvania Turnpike) remain as such. However, tolled highways built since the Interstate system, such as the tolled section of
PA Route 60 and
PA Turnpike 576, must be built or upgraded to Interstate standards before receiving Interstate designation. Both highways are to be part of the Interstate system, with PA 60 now
I-376 and PA Turnpike 576 to become
I-576 in the near future. As well, U.S. Interstate Highway standards mandate a minimum 11-foot median; however, highways built before those standards have been grandfathered into the system. The
Kansas Turnpike is the most notable example, as it has been retrofitted with a
Jersey barrier along its entire 236-mile length.