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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 involved in a long-term strategy to rein in the region's coal-fired power industry. We intend to make challenges to coal-fired power plants a priority over the next few 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.
Western Greenbrier County (West Virginia) Co-Generation Plant
On behalf of local residents and environmental groups particularly aggrieved by a proposed coal-fired power plant that would employ outdated emission control technology, the Center has appealed the Clean Air Act permit issued for this plant. If built, the project would be funded with the Bush Administration's "clean coal" money. However, the plant qualifies for its "clean coal" moniker not because of reduced emissions, but because it would burn some waste coal and have a smaller physical footprint. This plant is particularly egregious because it is intended as a model for four other coal-fired plants proposed for southeastern West Virginia. These new plants would add to the growing demand for coal and the concomitant push for ever faster and more drastic methods of mining. This is the Center's second challenge to a coal-fired power plant in West Virginia. (The first one resulted in a precedent-setting settlement agreement that included a more stringent permit and a commitment by the permittee to pay millions of dollars to fund mitigation of the impacts of acid rain in regional streams and global warming over the next 20 years.) The case was heard before the WV Air Quality Board in August of 2006 and has been briefed. We are currently awaiting the Board's decision.
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