The city of Columbia will stop burning coal at its power plant in mid-October.
City officials said the decision is in response to several new environmental regulations. The plant produces about 6 percent of the city's power supply.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports city officials cited a new federal law that limits the volume of pollutants the city can release from the plant. Federal regulations also stipulate that the city won't be able to operate its two coal units at more than 10 percent capacity after January.
Another law changes the way coal ash is handled.
Power plant officials said the city is considering changing one or both of the two boilers to burn biomass. If that is not feasible, the two boilers will be retired.
