(a)(1) Except as provided in sections 414(a)(2), 415(a)(3), and 416, beginning January 1, 2000, the Administrator shall not allocate annual allowances to emit sulfur dioxide pursuant to section 414 in such an amount as would result in total annual emissions of sulfur dioxide from utility units in excess of 8.90 million tons except that the Administrator shall not take into account unused allowances carried forward by owners and operators of affected units or by other persons holding such allowances, following the year for which they were allocated.
The current amount of utility units emit an average of 8 million tons of sulfur dioxide per year.