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Item 5. Other Information

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Item 5. Other Information

Regulation of the Nuclear Power Industry

Following is an update to the “Regulation of the Nuclear Power Industry” section of Part I, Item 1 of the Form 10-K.

Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982

Nuclear Plant Decommissioning

In March 2021 filings with the NRC were made reporting on decommissioning funding for all of Entergy subsidiaries’ nuclear plants. Those reports showed that decommissioning funding for each of the nuclear plants met the NRC’s financial assurance requirements.

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

In March 2021 the NRC placed Grand Gulf in Column 3 based on the incidence of five unplanned plant scrams during calendar year 2020, some of which were related to upgrades made to the plant’s turbine control system during the spring 2020 refueling outage. The NRC conducted a supplemental inspection of Grand Gulf in accordance with its inspection procedures for nuclear plants in Column 3 and, in October 2021, notified Entergy that all inspection objectives were met. A formal report on the inspection is expected in late 2021.

Environmental Regulation

Following are updates to the “Environmental Regulation” section of Part I, Item 1 of the Form 10-K.

Clean Air Act and Subsequent Amendments

See the Form 10-K for discussion of the Clean Air Act and Subsequent Amendments set by the EPA in accordance with the Clean Air Act. Following are updates to that discussion.

New Source Review

As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January and February 2018, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy Power, and other co-owners received 60-day notice of intent to sue letters from the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association concerning allegations of violations of new source review and permitting provisions of the Clean Air Act at the Independence and White Bluff coal-burning units, respectively. In November 2018, following extensive negotiations, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Mississippi, and Entergy Power entered a proposed settlement resolving those claims as well as other issues facing Entergy Arkansas’s fossil generation plants. The settlement, which formally resolves a complaint filed by the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association, was subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. In March 2021 the District Court approved and entered the proposed settlement. For further information about the settlement, see “Regional Haze” discussed below.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

See the Form 10-K for discussion of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set by the EPA in accordance with the Clean Air Act. Following are updates to that discussion.

Hazardous Air Pollutants

The EPA released the final Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) rule in December 2011, which had a compliance date, with a widely granted one-year extension, of April 2016. The required controls have been installed and are operational at all affected Entergy units. In May 2020 the EPA finalized a rule that finds that it is not “appropriate and necessary” to regulate hazardous air pollutants from electric steam generating units under the provisions of section 112(n) of the Clean Air Act. This is a reversal of the EPA’s previous finding requiring such regulation. The final appropriate and necessary finding does not revise the underlying MATS rule. Several lawsuits have been filed challenging the appropriate and necessary finding. In February 2021 the D.C. Circuit granted the EPA’s motion to hold the litigation in abeyance pending the agency’s review of the appropriate and necessary rule. The EPA must file status reports with the court every 120 days. Entergy will continue to monitor this situation.

Cross-State Air Pollution

As discussed in the Form 10-K, the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) has been remanded to and modified by the EPA on multiple occasions. In September 2016 the EPA finalized the CSAPR Update Rule to address interstate transport for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. In September 2019 the D.C. Circuit upheld the EPA’s underlying approach to the Update Rule, but determined that it was inconsistent with the Clean Air Act because it

failed to include deadlines consistent with the downward states’ deadlines for attainment. The court remanded the rule to the EPA for further consideration, but did not vacate it so the rule remains in effect pending the EPA’s further review. In April 2021, addressing the D.C. Circuit’s remand, the EPA finalized revisions to the Update Rule, which became effective June 29, 2021. The rule finalizes interstate transport obligations for 21 states. For 12 states, including Louisiana, the EPA further reduced the number of NOx emission allowances allocated to each state. Entergy is currently analyzing the potential impact on its facilities in Louisiana. Preliminary analysis indicates that ozone season NOx allowances may become more expensive in Louisiana, which could impact the cost of dispatching Entergy’s generating units located in Louisiana.

Regional Haze

As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January and February 2018, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy Power, and other co-owners received 60-day notice of intent to sue letters from the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association concerning allegations of violations of new source review and permitting provisions of the Clean Air Act at the Independence and White Bluff coal-burning units, respectively. In November 2018, following extensive negotiations, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Mississippi, and Entergy Power entered a proposed settlement resolving those claims and reducing the risk that Entergy Arkansas, as operator of Independence and White Bluff, might be compelled under the Clean Air Act’s regional haze program to install costly emissions control technologies. Consistent with the terms of the settlement and in many cases also the Part II state implementation plan (SIP), Entergy Arkansas, along with co-owners, agreed to begin using only low-sulfur coal at Independence and White Bluff by mid-2021; agreed to cease using coal at White Bluff and Independence by the end of 2028 and 2030, respectively; agreed to cease operation of the remaining gas unit at Lake Catherine by the end of 2027; reserved the option to develop new generating sources at each plant site; and committed to installing or proposing to regulators at least 800 MWs of renewable generation by the end of 2027, with at least half installed or proposed by the end of 2022 (which includes two existing Entergy Arkansas projects) and with all qualifying co-owner projects counting toward satisfaction of the obligation. Under the settlement, the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association also waived certain potential existing claims under federal and state environmental law with respect to specified generating plants. The settlement, which formally resolves a complaint filed by the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association, was subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. In November 2020 the court denied motions by the Arkansas Attorney General and the Arkansas Affordable Energy Coalition to intervene and to stay the proceedings. The proposed intervenors did not appeal the ruling. The District Court approved and entered the proposed settlement in March 2021. Entergy met the settlement deadline to use low-sulfur coal, is on target to meet the other requirements of the settlement, and is in compliance with other SIP requirements.

The second planning period (2018-2028) for the regional haze program requires states to examine sources for impacts on visibility and to prepare SIPs by July 31, 2021. Entergy has received information collection requests from Arkansas and Louisiana requesting an evaluation of technical and economic feasibility of various NOx and SO2 control technologies for Independence, Nelson 6, and Ninemile. Responses to the information requests have been submitted to the respective state agencies. Louisiana has issued its draft SIP which does not propose any additional air emissions controls for Entergy units in Louisiana. However, some public commenters believe additional air controls are cost-effective. It is not yet clear how the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) will respond in its final SIP, and the agency, like many other state agencies, did not meet the July 31, 2021 deadline to submit a SIP to the EPA for review. The LDEQ is now expected to finalize its Regional Haze SIP in late 2021 or early 2022.

New and Existing Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January 2021 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE). The court held that ACE relied on an incorrect interpretation of the Clean Air Act that the statute expressly forecloses emission reduction approaches, such as emissions trading and generating shifting, that cannot be applied at and to the individual source. The court remanded ACE to the EPA for further consideration and also vacated the repeal of the Clean Power Plan. In March 2021 the D.C. Circuit issued a

partial mandate vacating the ACE rule, but withheld the mandate vacating the repeal of the Clean Power Plan pending the EPA’s new rulemaking to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, the Clean Power Plan will not take effect during the rulemaking process and there currently is no regulation in place with respect to greenhouse gas emissions from existing electric generating units and states are not expected to take further action to develop and submit plans at this time.

Federal Jurisdiction of Waters of the United States

In June 2020 the EPA’s revised definition of waters of the United States in the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), which narrowed the scope of Clean Water Act jurisdiction, as compared to a 2015 definition which had been stayed by several federal courts became effective. In August 2021 a federal district court vacated and remanded the NWPR for further consideration. The EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers subsequently issued a statement that the agencies would revert to pre-2015 regulations pending a new rulemaking.

Coal Combustion Residuals

As discussed in the Form 10-K, in late 2017, Entergy determined that certain in-ground wastewater treatment system recycle ponds at its White Bluff and Independence facilities require management under the new EPA regulations. Each site has commenced closure of its two recycle ponds (four ponds total), prior to the April 11, 2021 deadline under the finalized CCR rule for unlined recycle ponds.

Other Environmental Matters

Entergy Texas

As discussed in the Form 10-K, due to COVID-19 pandemic delays, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) extended the Affected Property Assessment Report (APAR) and Ecological Risk Assessment submittal dates to December 2020, which Entergy timely met. Following the TCEQ’s review of the APAR and Ecological Risk Assessment, the TCEQ issued a No Further Action determination for the site in March 2021.

Executive Compensation

On November 2, 2021, Entergy Corporation (the Company), entered into an agreement with its Chief Executive Officer, Leo P. Denault (Executive), to amend: (i) the Pension Equalization Plan of Entergy Corporation and its Subsidiaries, as amended (the PEP), to cease Executive’s participation therein effective December 1, 2021, if Executive has not separated from service with the Company before such date; and (ii) the System Executive Retirement Plan of Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries, as amended (the SERP), to provide that, if Executive separates from service with the Company after November 30, 2021, the benefit payable to Executive (or his surviving spouse, if applicable) under the SERP will be determined as if Executive had separated from service on November 30, 2021 (including the use of compensation, service and actuarial assumptions applicable to separations as of such date). Except as amended, benefits payable to Executive (or his surviving spouse, if applicable) under the SERP otherwise generally continue to be subject to the provisions of the SERP (including applicable forfeiture conditions) and Executive’s Retention Agreement with the Company effective August 3, 2006, as amended.

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