2009.12.09 Press Release
Texas Coal Rush continues as TCEQ Fails to Protect Air Quality in Texas
Contact: Eva Hernandez, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Texas Organizer, 404-717-3328; or,
Neil Carman, Clean Air Program Director, Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, 512-472-1767
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Hands Air Pollution Permit to NRG Limestone Coal Plant
(Austin) – Today the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) voted to issue an air permit for a third unit expansion of the NRG Limestone Coal Plant. This is the first coal plant air permit TCEQ has issued since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rules that would find that TCEQ has not been adhering to the Clean Air Act in its issuance of new permits.
“The new EPA is taking steps that make coal plants more and more obsolete,” said Eva Hernandez, Sierra Club Texas coal organizer. “The EPA has said that TCEQ is not applying certain provisions of the Clean Air Act; the EPA found on Monday that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases represent a significant threat to public health and welfare; and the EPA plans to announce its new ozone standard on December 21. These important decisions signal serious changes in coal plant regulation and point to smarter clean energy solutions.”
This week in advance of the global meeting on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark (The conference runs from Saturday, December 9 through Tuesday, December 19), the EPA declared that greenhouse gases like CO2 are a danger to public health, a move that opens the door to new emissions regulations for United States power plants. If it goes into operation, the new unit at NRG Limestone would spew out more than 7.4 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year.
“While NRG has promised to offset 50% of the carbon dioxide emissions from the plant, adding any more fuel to the fire at this critical moment in the climate crisis is morally inexcusable,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas office. “This is just another example of why the Sunset Commission should take a good hard look at how TCEQ rubber stamps permits for coal plants in Texas.”
Beside adding dangerous global warming emissions into the atmosphere, every year the new unit at NRG Limestone will release the following criteria pollutants into the air:
• 2,102 tons of SO2, which forms smog
• 1,752 tons of NOx, which forms ozone
• 1,226 tons of Particulate Matter, which causes respiratory illnesses
• 140 pounds of Mercury, which cause birth defects and developmental problems in children.
“The TCEQ is not following federal law (Maximum Achievable Control Technology or MACT) in issuing this permit. Mercury exposure puts children at risk for permanent brain damage and learning disabilities. High autism rates are correlated with mercury emissions as well,” said Karen Hadden, executive director of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition. “Texas is the worst in the nation in mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants, which are also the largest airborne mercury source in Texas.”
The Sierra Club, (represented by Environmental Integrity Project), Robertson County Our Land, Our Lives (represented by Attorney Wendi Hammond), an individual Doug Ray, with Citizens for Environmental Clean-up (represented by citizen Charles Morgan), and Valence Operating Company challenged the NRG Limestone air permit in a contested case before the State Office of Administrative Hearings concerning health and environmental impacts.
Following today’s decision by the TCEQ, Sierra Club plans to file a motion for re-hearing at the TCEQ and if denied would file an appeal in state district court.
“The TCEQ needs to rethink this Texas tragedy. At the very moment that leaders from the rest of the world are meeting in Copenhagen to figure out how to address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, Texas is giving the go ahead to another coal plant?” said Paul Rolke with Robertson County Our Land Our Lives. “Energy leaders and investors in Texas have to wise up and realize that clean power is the only rational solution. The planet can’t stand another coal plant.”
Background Information
Texas, with twelve proposed coal plants (with twenty boilers total) in various stages of the permitting and/or construction and appeals processes, has more coal plants projects than any other state in the nation. You’ll actually see 14 proposed Texas coal plants on this coal plant tracker -- http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/local.aspx however we are counting twelve since two appear not to be moving forward.
For analysis of this list of existing and proposed coal plants in Texas, please phone Donna Hoffman, 512-299-5776, with Sierra Club for documents showing ‘good’ states (with no to fewer coal plants) and ‘bad’ states (a lot of coal plants).
Contact: Eva Hernandez, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Texas Organizer, 404-717-3328; or,
Neil Carman, Clean Air Program Director, Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, 512-472-1767