|
Archived Air Issues:
October 2006
August 2005
April 2004
November 2003
|
 |
| |
 |
| Coal-fired
power plants in West Virginia and other
states release significant amounts of
mercury through their stacks. The mercury is
eventually deposited in surface water and
can accumulate to dangerous levels in fish.
Mercury contamination of fish is now a
national problem that in many states limits
the amount of fish that can be safely
consumed especially by pregnant women. |
|
|
| |
|
Because coal mining and coal burning go hand in hand in this region, the Center is in the early phases of its long-term challenge to the region's coal-fired power industry. We intend to make challenges to coal-fired power plants a priority over the next two years. West Virginia has some of the dirtiest and largest coal fired power plants in the country. Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and mercury emissions from West Virginia's power plants are responsible for poor air quality and impaired health of the people of Appalachia and New England. For the last twenty years, West Virginia's air regulatory program has enforced the state and federal Clean Air Act with virtually no citizen monitoring. These unchecked emissions have contributed to global warming because of the weak pollution limits secured by industry-friendly consultants.
New Source Review Challenge
The Center is serving as local counsel for Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York in an action against Allegheny Energy for failing to comply with New Source Review Standards. After these states filed their Notice of Intent to sue, Allegheny Energy moved for a change of venue to have the case heard in West Virginia, where the company expects a more favorable court. This move by the power company underscores West Virginia's significance, for better or for worse, in the struggle to protect our Nation's environment and natural resources.
Clean Air Act strategy
Lax enforcement of environmental laws results in artificially low coal prices, encouraging increased use of this finite resource. Emissions from large numbers of coal-fired power plants make Appalachia a major source of high mercury levels that adversely affect the region's populace and then cycle through the environment to become a regional and global problem. The Center is working to develop a strategy that will effectively address this problem.
|
|
