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Archived Air Issues:
October 2006
August 2005
April 2004
November 2003
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| Coal-fired
power plants in West Virginia and other
states release significant amounts of
mercury through their stacks. The mercury is
eventually deposited in surface water and
can accumulate to dangerous levels in fish.
Mercury contamination of fish is now a
national problem that in many states limits
the amount of fish that can be safely
consumed especially by pregnant women. |
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Because coal mining and coal burning go hand in hand in this region, the Center is in the early phases of its long-term challenge to the region's coal-fired power industry. We intend to make challenges to coal-fired power plants a priority over the next two years. West Virginia has some of the dirtiest and largest coal fired power plants in the country. Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and mercury emissions from West Virginia's power plants are responsible for poor air quality and impaired health of the people of Appalachia and New England. For the last twenty years, West Virginia's air regulatory program has enforced the state and federal Clean Air Act with virtually no citizen monitoring. These unchecked emissions have contributed to global warming because of the weak pollution limits secured by industry-friendly consultants.
Air Quality Settlement
In April 2004, on behalf of the Sierra Club, National Park Conservation Association, and Trout Unlimited, the Center filed an appeal of Longview Power, LLC's air permit for a new coal-fired power plant with the WV Air Quality Board (WVAQB). This was the first such appeal filed in the State's history. After months of filing appeal documents and negotiating, the parties to the appeal reached a precedent-setting settlement agreement in August. The agreement will not only help protect the public health of West Virginians, but it also sets national standards that will be used by environmentalists and public health advocates across the country to require more stringent permits in other regions.
This agreement includes: tighter permit limits for acid rain-forming NOx (Nitrous Oxide) and SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide); annual inspections of the plant (rather than every five years), the first-ever continuous emission monitor for mercury, and the creation of a mitigation fund that recognizes the harms of global warming. The mitigation fund requires Longview Power and its subsequent owners, to pay $500,000 per year for the first ten years of operation and $300,000 per year for the remaining life of the plant to fund carbon sequestration and acid rain mitigation projects in West Virginia. On August 4, 2004, WVAQB accepted and approved the settlement, thereby strengthening the permit.
Air Quality Regulations
West Virginia's Division of Air Quality (WVDAQ) has proposed regulations to adopt federal new source review (NSR) revisions to the Clean Air Act. The federal NSR revisions, instigated by the Bush administration, have made it easier for companies to modify old coal-fired power plants without getting new permits to do so. The Center filed comments on the WVDAQ's proposal and requested that the agency pull back its changes until a stakeholder group can fully review the amendments.
WVDAQ has also proposed changes to West Virginia's Regulation 19 which deals with Clean Air Act permits and changes in permits that may affect the State's non-attainment areas. Non-attainment areas are those that do not currently meet all of the air quality standards for specific pollutants, such as particulate matter and ozone. This rule lays the groundwork for state plans to improve air quality and eliminate non-attainment areas. Again, the Center filed comments and asked the agency to withdraw its proposed rules to allow all stakeholders to be involved in the process of devising the plan.
Mercury
West Virginia's Fish Consumption Advisory Committee has alarming new data indicating dangerous levels of mercury in fish which should result in statewide fish consumption advisories. Fish from some of the state's highest quality streams - Shavers Fork, Dry Fork, and the North and South Forks of the South Branch of the Potomac - are among the most severely affected. The assumption is that most of the mercury is coming from air deposition from coal fired power plants but Center staff also found over 350 permitted water pollution discharges with mercury concerns. Despite EPA recommendations, WVDEP has failed to include all of the streams with mercury-laden fish on the state's 303(d) list of impaired streams. Since "listing" a stream triggers assessment of the sources of pollution and leads to clean-up plans, it is one of few ways to attack the problem and furnish safe fish as a food source for West Virginians and others who fish the state's streams. The Center is writing comments and will take other necessary steps to insist that all waters with fish consumption advisories be listed on the West Virginia list of impaired streams.
This is a new strategy for fighting mercury pollution that will, if successful, limit mercury air emissions from coal-fired power plants and mercury-laden water discharges.
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