Clean Air News

As the new home of WISPIRG's environmental work, Wisconsin Environment can be contacted with any questions regarding this report. 

MADISON— The vast majority of air pollution from the nation's dirtiest power plants, including from the Blount Street and Columbia plants here in Wisconsin, is pollution that should be cleaned up with modern pollution controls under the Clean Air Act, but that would remain untouched under the Bush administration's new rules relaxing power plant emission limits, according to a new WISPIRG report released today by the Clear the Air Campaign. Wisconsin announced yesterday that it was joining forces with 12 other states to block the implementation of these rollbacks.

"Lethal Legacy" is the first analysis of newly released EPA data on power plant emissions in 2002. WISPIRG's analysis showed that pollution from Wisconsin's 17 dirty coal plants put out 63 percent more soot-producing sulfur dioxide and 60 percent more smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution than would be allowed if the Clean Air Act was fully enforced.

"It's time to require old power plants to meet the same pollution standards that have been met by newer plants for years," said Jennifer Giegerich, WISPIRG State Director. "We would prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths from heart and lung disease each year," she continued.

According to the new report, about half of the power plants nationwide (548), are responsible for emitting more than 98 percent of all smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution and 99 percent of all soot-forming sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution from the entire electric sector. These same 548 plants are responsible for 91 percent of carbon dioxide, the leading cause of global warming, from the entire electric sector. There are 17 of these plants in Wisconsin. This disproportionate amount of pollution is because Congress gave older power plants a temporary exemption or "grandfathering" from new pollution standards when the Clean Air Act was first written. These old, grandfathered plants are still using pollution controls available in the 50s and 60s, and are therefore emitting 80-90 percent more pollution per unit of electric output than a new plant could emit.

By analyzing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions data, "Lethal Legacy" finds that in 2002:

• Dirty power plants emitted over 10 million tons of sulfur dioxide, the pollution that forms "fine particle" soot and causes asthma attacks, heart disease and even death. Research published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that this pollution may also cause lung cancer. Seventy percent of this pollution would be eliminated with faithful enforcement of the Clean Air Act. The Blount Street plant in Madison put out over 7,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, of which 86 percent would not be allowed if the Clean Air Act was fully enforced.
• In 2002, dirty power plants emitted 4.4 million tons of nitrogen oxides, the pollution that forms ozone smog and can trigger asthma attacks. Research has shown that this pollution may actually cause asthma in athletic children. Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of nitrogen oxide pollution from power plants would be eliminated with faithful enforcement of the Clean Air Act. Over 80 percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions from the Nelson Dewey Power Plant in Sheboygan are in excess of what would be allowed if it were to meet modern emission standards.
• In 2002, dirty power plants emitted over 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, which is more than one-third of total CO2 emissions from all sources. Carbon dioxide has been identified as the leading cause of global warming. The Pleasant Prairie Plant emitted over 9.3 million tons of C02 last year, the most of any power plant in Wisconsin.

"These pollutants, and the soot and smog they create in the air we breathe, are known to cause serious health problems, triggering asthma attacks, heart attacks, and even causing premature death," said Clear the Air Executive Director Angela Ledford. "The Bush administration's policies will expose Wisconsinites to more soot and smog emissions than should be allowed under the Clean Air Act."

While President Bush promised to clean up old power plants, including carbon dioxide emissions, during the 2000 campaign, he has taken two major actions to the contrary since taking office. First, the Bush administration's EPA issued controversial changes to the rules governing industrial emissions that extend the grandfathering status of power plants in perpetuity. The report shows that these changes to a program known as New Source Review (NSR) will conservatively allow 7.1 million tons of soot-forming SO2 emissions, and 2.7 tons of smog-forming NOx emissions to go unchecked. Wisconsin joined suit with twelve other states yesterday to block the implementation of these new changes to the NSR program in federal court.

"The Bush administration's broken promises reverse more than thirty years of progress made under the Clean Air Act," said Giegerich. "WISPIRG applauds Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager for challenging policies that make Wisconsinites bear the consequences in the form of respiratory disease, acid rain, haze in our national parks and global warming," she continued.

In addition, the administration's Clear Skies legislative proposal further weakens the Clean Air Act's programs for soot, smog and toxic mercury, while ignoring the threat of global warming entirely. Clear Skies exempts power plants from Clean Air Act rule that would require plant-specific controls for NOx, SO2 and mercury, while replacing those programs with pollution caps that allow higher levels of emissions over a longer period of time compared to current law. Moreover, it continues to allow power plants to emit unlimited amounts of CO2.

Instead of rolling back clean air protections, the organizations advocated stronger enforcement of the current Clean Air Act, and a comprehensive federal policy on power plant pollution to include mandatory reductions of CO2.