Northwest Environmental Advocates--News Releases

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For Release
April 16, 1996 12:00 a.m.
For Further Information
Nina Bell (NWEA): 503/295-0490
Nancy Holbrook, 360-341-3406

GROUP SEEKS PROTECTION FOR MT. RAINIER

Pointing to evidence that Mt. Rainer and other regional scenic areas are suffering from air pollution emitted by the state's only coal-fired plant, an environmental group notified Washington State agencies today that it will file a lawsuit to stop the "slow destruction of the state's and region's natural resources." Northwest Environmental Advocates (NWEA), a nonprofit citizens' organization representing Oregon and Washington residents, filed the 60-day notice of intent today against the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the Southwest Air Pollution Control Authority (SWAPCA), a regional pollution control authority. NWEA charges Ecology and SWAPCA with failing to implement requirements of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) including pollution controls for the Centralia Coal Power Plant in southwest Washington.

According to NWEA's notice, regulations adopted by Ecology in 1987 required the agency every three years to revise its plan for "preventing any future and remedying any existing" visibility problems in the state's national parks amd wilderness areas brought on by air pollution. Washington has never performed that three-year review, states NWEA's notice. In addition, NWEA charges that WDOE and SWAPCA have violated the CAA by ignoring federal agency concerns about the impacts of Centralia's pollution on Mt. Rainier, the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, and other national parks and wilderness areas in the state of Washington.

"Despite uncontroverted evidence of Centralia's effects on regional national parks and wilderness areas, the regulatory agencies charged with protcting the environment have allowed this plant to operate for years with no pollution controls whatsoever. Nothing. The National Park Service and the U. S.Forest Service have made it clear that Centralia's emissions are damaging park ecosystems and visibility yet neither Ecology nor SWAPCA has imposed any pollution controls on Centralia. That the pollution is destroying one of Washington's most treasured symbols, Mt. Rainer, speaks to the political clout of Centralia's utility owners," said NWEA's Executive Director, Nina Bell.

Since 1971, Centralia has been operating without sulfur dioxide controls. Currently, Centralia is the largest source of sulfur dioxide from an uncontrolled coal-fired source in the West, emitting more than 65,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (a precursor of acid rain) each year. It is expected that sulfur dioxide emissions will increase to 94,000 tons per year by 1999. The plant also emits over 31,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, 2,854 tons of particulate matter and nine million tons of CO2, a major cause of global warming.
Located 50 miles from Mt. Rainier, Centralia is operated by the Portland-based electric utility PacifiCorp which holds a majority share of the output. Other owners include: Seattle City Light, Snohomish PUD, Puget Sound Power & Light, Grays Habor PUD, Washington Water Power and Portland General Electric.

According to federal agencies, Mount Rainier is suffering from visibility impairment and acid rain effects directly attributable to Centralia. "[S]ulfur dioxide emissions from the Centralia Power Plant contibute significantly to visibility impairment and acid deposition in Mount Rainier National Park and other Class I air quality areas in the Pacific Northwest," testified Bill Briggle, Superintendent of Mt. Rainier, before SWAPCA on August 15, 1995. The Park Service has concluded that Centralia is the cause of at least 33 percent of the man-made visibility impairment annually at Mt. Rainier. The U.S. Forest Service has found that sulfur deposition (acid rain) in the Mt. Rainier area are six times the recommended level for sensitive alpine lakes. These same federal agencies have attributed pollution from Centralia to areas as far as Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Park and the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area.

Centralia's pollution has also been linked to negative impacts on human health. According to Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs in a study done for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), 19.7 deaths and 677 illnesses each year can be attributed to Centralia.

"Coal-fired plants are the dinosaurs of an electrical power
industry that are having a very negative effect on the environment. We don't have to use coal because we can produce energy more efficiently and cleanly with other sources. The status quo must change," said Bell.

NWEA has been working on energy issues in the region since 1969 and is the lead organization on safety issues regarding the region's nuclear power plants. NWEA sponsored the first independent safety study of the N-Reactor which was subsequentially closed for safety reasons. NWEA also played a major role in the closing of Oregon's Trojan Nuclear Power Plant. NWEA was responsible for getting the Columbia River Estuary into the National Estuary Program and forcing the City of Portland to stop discharging 6 billions gallons of raw sewage to the Willamette River each year.

133 SW 2^nd Ave., Portland, OR 97204-3526 (503) 295-0490 FAX 295-6634