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Proposed EPA Plan Would Curtail Pollution from Seven Coal-fired Power Plants
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x 1303

Denver—Spurred byWildEarth Guardians’ legal efforts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) today proposed a comprehensive clean air plan for the state of NorthDakota to reduce haze forming pollution, providing greater protection forpublic health and the environment.

“This proposal is a solid step forward in confronting airpollution from dirty energy in North Dakota,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate andEnergy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “This long overdue EPA plan ensures that the oldest,dirtiest coal-fired power plants in North Dakota are retrofitted with modernair pollution controls, providing a springboard for cleaner energy and a healthierfuture.”

The EPA proposal would partially approve and partiallydisapprove a plan originally submitted by the State of North Dakota. For the portions of the plan that theEPA has proposed to disapprove, the Agency developed its own federal plan tomeet the Clean Air Act. The proposal also kicks off a 60-day public comment andalso a public hearing, which is scheduled for October 13 in Bismarck.

The federal plan would impose requirements to reducenitrogen oxide emissions using top-tier emission controls at four coal-firedpower plants—Coal Creek, Leland Olds, Milton Young, and Antelope Valley. The plan also approves North Dakota’sproposal to further reduce emissions from three other coal-fired power plants—Stanton,Heskett, and Coyote. Many of theseplants burn lignite coal, the dirtiest kind of coal.

Although the driver for the EPA’s proposal is a programunder the Clean Air Act aimed at reducing haze pollution in National Parks andWilderness Areas, the same pollutants that form haze are also responsible forurban smog, acid rain, and deadly particulate matter pollution. A report by the Clean Air Task Forcefound that air pollution from coal-fired power plants in North Dakota everyyear put 207 people at risk of premature death, 321 at risk of heart attacks,and 3,500 at risk of asthma attacks, all at a cost of more than $1 billion.

“Without a doubt, this haze plan will save lives,” saidNichols. “By keeping tens ofthousands of tons of air pollution out of the air, this proposal will ensureNorth Dakota’s air quality stays as clean as possible.”

The overall plan would cut emissions of three mainpollutants, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxides, and particulate matter. In total, cleaning up the coal-firedpower plants in North Dakota will cut sulfur dioxide emissions by more than98,000 tons/year and nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 40,000 tons/year. This will be like taking 2,094,240 carsoff the road (according to the EPA, a passenger vehicle emits 38.2 pounds ofnitrogen oxides annually).

The plan would markedly improve visibility in treasuredlandscapes, such as Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

In disapproving portions of North Dakota’s plan, the EPAfound that the state failed to accurately assess the costs of air pollutioncontrols and failed to comply with other provisions of the Clean Air Act. Under the Clean Air Act, statesnormally develop clean air plans. However, where such plans are inconsistent with the law, the EPA islegally obligated to develop a federal plan.

The EPA finally issued today’s proposal after being sued byWildEarth Guardians over its failure to meet deadlines related to regional hazeplans and interstate transport of air pollution. Under the terms of a 2009 settlement agreement, which waslater modified, the EPA agreed to issue a proposed rule by September 1, 2011and a final rule by mid-February of 2012.