Environment DEC
From the November 2006 issue
Suit Brought Against Upstate Power Plant for Polluting Air
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner (DEC) Denise M. Sheehan announced plans to sue Rochester Gas and Electric Company (RG&E) for long-standing violations of clean air laws at one of the company's coal-fired power plants. Attorney General Spitzer sent RG&E a "notice of intent" letter identifying federal Clean Air Act violations at the company's Russell Station power plant in Greece, New York. The law requires that such a letter be sent at least 60 days before the filing of a lawsuit.
Coal-fired power plants emit the most air pollution - photo courtesy of Tennesse Valley Authority
"The state informed RG&E over six years ago that its plant was violating the law, but the company refused to cut its air pollution," Spitzer said. "A lawsuit will ask the court to compel the company to take appropriate steps to curtail its harmful emissions."
Russell Station
RG&E's Russell Station facility is one
of the state's oldest power plants
Russell Station, built in 1948, is one of the state's oldest and dirtiest power plants. Last year, it emitted more than 1,800 tons of nitrogen oxides and 15,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, compounds linked to serious environmental damage and public health problems. The state's lawsuit will allege that RG&E made major upgrades to the plant but failed to install the necessary pollution controls as required by law. RG&E claims that those modifications were merely routine maintenance and, therefore, exempt from so-called New Source Review pollution control requirements.
"Projects undertaken illegally by RG&E at the Russell Station facility are resulting in the excessive emissions of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, and New York State is committed to holding violators accountable. Through the implementation of appropriate pollution-control technology at power plants statewide, we will continue to reduce harmful power-plant emissions" said Commissioner Sheehan.
