August 28, 2009
August 28, 2009
Feds' lawsuit: Power plants polluting area
August 28, 2009
By STEWART WARREN swarren@scn1.com
WASHINGTON -- A federal lawsuit filed Thursday against Midwest Generation accuses the utility of polluting the air with its coal-fired power plants.
Midwest Generation has plants in Joliet and Romeoville.
The Midwest Generation plant in Romeoville has been cited by the federal and state government for violations of the Clean Air Act.
(Herald News File)
A company spokesman said it already has an agreement to address the issues raised in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was announced by the Justice Department, EPA and the Illinois attorney general's office.
Although the company has made some changes to the facilities in Illinois, it didn't install the required pollution control equipment, the federal lawsuit alleges. As a result, the six Illinois power plants are emitting massive amounts of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.
Midwest Generation also allegedly violated other rules of the Clean Air Act, according to the lawsuit.
Health risk
When considered as a group, coal-fired power plants produce more pollution than any other source in the United States, and the emissions cause health problems, including heart attacks and respiratory disease, according to information provided by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office, one of the entities behind the suit.
To combat these adverse effects, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department are pursuing a national initiative, targeting electric utilities whose coal-fired power plants violate the law.
"I am very concerned about the negative health effects that these aging plants have on the people who live in the communities where the Midwest Gen facilities are located," Madigan said. "All Midwest Generation power plants must comply with the Clean Air Act and the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to safeguard public health and the environment."
The United States and the state of Illinois are seeking civil penalties up to the maximum amount authorized by law and actions by Midwest Generation to mitigate the adverse public health and environmental effects caused by the alleged violations.
Lawsuit welcomed
In Will County, the members of Citizens Against Ruining the Environment -- the watchdog group perhaps better known as CARE -- were delighted by the lawsuit.
"I think this is fantastic. It is time," said Ellen Rendulich, of Lockport, the group's director.
Company officials have long known that the power plants caused pollution, she said.
"In the meantime, everyone is suffering: lung disease, heart disease. And the thing is, people don't understand that when the power plants produce electricity, only 10 percent goes to supply Illinois; the rest is sold outside Illinois," she said.
Tough regulations
But Midwest Generation has had an agreement in place since 2006 with the EPA, said Doug McFarlan, spokesman for the company.
"It is one of the toughest environmental regulations on coal-fired plants, one of the toughest in the country," McFarlan said. "And we are implementing that agreement and believe it addresses the emissions reductions that the federal government has sought from other companies."
Earlier this month, Midwest Generation marked the installation of a pollution-control system designed to catch 80 percent of the mercury that previously had been released into the air. Company officials also said they planned to have in place equipment to cut the release of nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide.
Environmental coalition
Previously, a coalition of environmental groups had announced plans to file a lawsuit against the company to force it to cut the amount of soot released by the plant.
The coalition included the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago, the Sierra Club and Citizens Against Ruining the Environment.
"Emissions from the Crawford and Fisk [Chicago] plants contribute to elevated levels of ozone smog and fine particle soot pollution in the region," said Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs at Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. "These pollutants increase the number of asthma attacks, emergency room visits and respiratory hospitalizations, as well as strokes, heart attacks and premature deaths."
The Environmental Law and Policy Center supported the lawsuit, too.
"Midwest Generation's own reports show that they have been breaking the law and endangering public health for years," said Faith Bugel, Senior Attorney for ELPC. "We're encouraged to see that U.S. EPA and the state of Illinois are holding Midwest Generation accountable for breaking the law."
