US EPA Issues Clean Air Act Violations
Environmental Groups Hopeful for Local Coal Plants’ Clean-Up
Chicago, IL – Today environmental groups applauded the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for issuing Clean Air Act notices of violation to Illinois coal plant owners, Midwest Generation and Commonwealth Edison. The groups, including Citizens Against Ruining the Environment (CARE), Environmental Law & Policy Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago, and Sierra Club, called on the agency to ensure that the plants get cleaned up.
According to the notices, the EPA has determined that the owners and former owners of six Illinois coal plants violated the Clean Air Act by modifying the power plants without installing necessary pollution control equipment to reduce fine particle pollution or soot, as well as the pollution that causes smog and acid rain.
There is evidence that pollution from these coal plants has contributed to premature deaths among people with heart or lung disease. It continues to lead to increased numbers of people suffering from respiratory ailments, including aggravated asthma, bronchitis, and asthma in children and can increase the chance of getting a nonfatal heart attack. Chicago currently has the highest asthma rate in the nation.
Two of the plants are located in Will County, home to CARE. Ellen Rendulich, CARE’s Director, states “It's been 36 years since the USEPA announced that grandfathered coal plants were hazardous to our health. We are ecstatic that the USEPA has agreed to hold Midwest Generation accountable for their violations. We've endured the negative health effects from fine particle pollution and soot for too long!”
The power plants cited include Crawford and Fisk Stations in Chicago, Joliet Station, Will County Station, Waukegan Station, and Powerton Station near Pekin. Almost all have been operating since the 1950s and 60s. The EPA notice states that they were modified to extend their life, and pollution increased as a result of these projects. The plant owners should have obtained permits for the modifications, and those permits would have required modern pollution controls.
“When the Clean Air Act was passed, it exempted existing facilities from many of its requirements,” added Verena Owen, Clean Air Campaign Chair for the Illinois Sierra Club. “However, it was also made clear that those exemptions would not last forever. It is time for Midwest Generation to clean up its act. A reduction of emissions at their plants would be a huge step forward in assuring that all Chicagoans are breathing clean air all of the time.”
“These plants are responsible for thousands of asthma attacks and hundreds of emergency room visits every year. Emissions from these plants have even been linked to premature deaths’; says Joel Affrick, President and CEO of the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. “One cannot overstate the deleterious health effects of them.”
Following the notice of violation, the U.S. EPA is expected to either begin formal legal proceedings against the companies or enter into settlement negotiations. As a result, all or some of these facilities likely will be required to install modern pollution controls. Modern pollution controls could reduce pollution by upwards of 90 percent at these facilities.
“We commend the U.S. EPA for taking this important first step to address the decades-long violations that have been taking place at these coal plants,” stated Faith Bugel, Senior Attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “We look forward to the end result of this action that will bring modern pollution controls to all of these facilities and cleaner air for all those who live in the region.”
As part of the Illinois Mercury Rule and Clean Air Interstate Rule proceedings, Midwest Generation entered into an agreement to install modern pollution controls on some of its facilities. It is not yet clear how that agreement will affect any potential negotiations over the notice of violation.
"EPA's action represents the latest repudiation of the utility industry's effort to avoid the plain requirements of the Clean Air Act," said Staff Attorney Shannon Fisk of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "As recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have made clear, these dirty and aging coal-fired power plants must install modern pollution controls to protect public health and the environment."
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