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WildEarth Guardians Targets Mercury from Lamar, CO Coal-fired Power Plant
WildEarth Guardians Targets Mercury from Lamar, CO Coal-fired Power Plant
More than 300 Lamar Citizens Call for an End to the Power Plant as Well
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x1303
DENVER-In a move to protect public health and safety, WildEarth Guardians today notified Lamar Light and Power and the Arkansas River Power Authority Energy that construction of the coal-fired power plant in the middle of the eastern Colorado town of Lamar is occurring illegally, without limits on mercury and other toxic air pollution. The group intends to file suit against Lamar Light and Power and the Arkansas River Power Authority to prevent the plant from starting up.
“This is about keeping poisons out of the air that families, kids, and communities breathe,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “Lamar Light and Power and the Arkansas River Power Authority are moving to fire up their smokestack without fully protecting public health. That’s not only dangerous, it’s illegal.”
At the same time, WildEarth Guardians joined local citizens today in calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for help. In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, citizens called for a timeout at the Lamar coal-fired power plant. Recent events, including a valve malfunction and a coal storage silo fire, coupled with the failure of the plant to address toxic air emissions, has prompted more than 300 Lamar residents to sign a petition calling for plans to startup the Lamar coal-fired power plant to be abandoned.
“We’re incredibly worried about what this plant is going to do to our community once it’s up and running,” said Shirley Warren, a Lamar, CO resident who lives near the coal-fired power plant. “We need help, we need oversight, and most importantly, we need protection. Our community cannot afford a coal-fired power plant.”
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that has contaminated the fish in 20% of Colorado’s lakes and reservoirs and is especially dangerous to unborn children. The Lamar coal-fired power plant is projected to release 38 pounds of mercury every year, roughly equal to the amount in more than 38,000 household thermometers. According to the EPA, just one household thermometer is enough to contaminate the fish in a lake with a surface area of 20 acres.
The Lamar coal-fired power plant previously burned natural gas, which releases little toxic air pollution. Lamar Light and Power, with financing from the Arkansas River Power Authority, was granted a permit to convert the natural gas-fired power plant to coal in 2007. The coal-fired power plant is nearing completion. Once fired up, the company’s air pollution permit shows the plant will release a number of toxic pollutants. In addition to mercury, the plant will release:
367 pounds of benzene, a known carcinogen;
670 pounds of cyanide compounds
20,945 pounds of hydrochloric acid;
983 pounds of selenium compounds; and
5,047 pounds of sulfuric acid, among other toxic pollutants.
Under the Clean Air Act, toxic air emissions, including mercury, have to be limited using up-to-date control technologies. These limits are required to be established through a permit before construction of a source of air pollution begins. In the case of the Lamar coal-fired power plant, Lamar Light and Power and the Arkansas River Power Authority started construction in 2007, yet never obtained a permit limiting toxic emissions with modern controls. In a July 2009 letter, even the EPA informed the Arkansas River Power Authority that it was required to secure toxic air pollution limits.
With modern controls, mercury could be reduced by 95% or more from the smokestack of the Lamar coal-fired power plant. Despite the need to limit mercury and other toxic emissions, Lamar Light and Power and Arkansas River Power Authority are continuing to move forward with construction of the power plant.
Citizens can file suit against polluters under the Clean Air Act, but first have to provide 60 days notice. If Lamar Light and Power and the Arkansas River Power Authority do not secure a permit limiting toxic air emissions using up-to-date controls within 60 days, WildEarth Guardians will file suit against the companies in federal court to halt construction of the power plant. Under the Clean Air Act, Lamar Light and Power and the Arkansas River Power Authority could be penalized as much as $37,500 for every day that construction of the plant has occurred in violation. The companies face more than $28,000,000 in total potential penalties.
WildEarth Guardians is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the wildlife, wild places, and wild rivers of the American West.