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LAWSUIT FILED TO FORCE CLEAN-UP OF CENTRALIA COAL PLANT AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES CAUSING AIR POLLUTION PROBLEMS
A lawsuit seeking the clean-up of the Centralia Coal Plant was filed today against the Washington Department of Ecology, the Southwest Air Pollution Control Authority (SWAPCA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by Northwest Environmental Advocates (NWEA), a regional environmental organization. The suit also seeks to force Ecology to evaluate the need to install pollution controls on other industries that are causing visibility problems in Washington's national parks and wilderness areas, as required by the federal Clean Air Act.
Centralia, the largest source of sulfur dioxide west of the Mississippi,
is located just 50 miles from Mt. Rainer National Park. NWEA's Executive
Director, Nina Bell, said at a news conference held Wednesday that the
Clean Air Act requires significant emission reductions because the plant
is known to be causing visibility losses and acid rain at Mt. Rainer National
Park. According to Bell, the Park Service has determined that Centralia
causes approximately one-third of human-made visibility impairment on
the 132 days in the year which would otherwise be clear.
"It is extremely important that Centralia -- which has had only very
narrow pollution controls over its 25 years of operation -- is cleaned
up in an expeditious fashion," said Bell, "but it is equally
important that Ecology establish controls on other facilities that are
polluting invaluable national parks and wilderness areas in the Northwest."
Public concerns have been raised about the health impacts of Centralia's emissions and the facility's effects on the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area. "There are multiple benefits to the public from enforcing the Clean Air Act's visibility provisions," according to Bell. "By forcing significant reductions in Centralia's emissions we can save lives, the health of alpine lakes, and scenic areas that are not protected by law."
The Clean Air Act requires a three-step process to protect Class I areas -- three national parks and five wilderness areas -- in Washington. This process has been incorporated into Washington's Visibility State Implementation Plan (SIP). The first step is to perform a visibility study every three years, which Ecology has never done. Next, where the federal agencies have certified visibility impairment in protected areas, the state must identify the sources causing the impairment. Last, the state must establish and implement technological controls known as the "Best Available Retrofit Technology" (BART) for each of these sources.
Along with the lawsuit, NWEA and Ecology filed a proposed consent decree
with the court on Tuesday, reflecting an out-of-court settlement on the
SIP portion of the lawsuit. The review could lead to significant reductions
of pollution emissions at 26 types of industrial facilities including
pulp mills and petroleum storage facilities. According to the settlement,
Ecology will examine the cumulative effects of emissions of any anthropogenic
pollutants -- including particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen oxides (NOx),
sulfur dioxide (SO2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) -- on Class
I areas with visibility problems.
"We are pleased that Ecology has agreed to do this long-overdue analysis," said Bell. "This study," added Bell, "is the first step toward mandatory and dramatic pollution reductions for known bad actors. It is a step that Ecology has failed to take for nine years in order to avoid enforcing Clean Air Act requirements for Centralia and other major industrial polluters throughout the state."
"Unfortunately, the agencies are not at all ready to commit to following the Clean Air Act with regard to the Centralia Coal Plant," Bell went on to say. "We are here today because one year ago SWAPCA issued a clean-up order that was widely regarded as both environmentally and legally inadequate. We understand that there are ongoing negotations between the regulatory authorties and the plant owner PacifiCorp. While we commend the parties for working towards an appropriate solution the public still has no assurances that, after years of no action, Ecology will and the other agencies will do what the law requires to protect Mt. Rainer National Park, namely to require BART for Centralia."
For background information on the Clean Air Act's visibility provisions, the impacts of Centralia on Mt. Rainer visibility and lake acidification, please see the attached newsletter article.
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