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Challenge to Stuart Generating Station Continues; New Study Directly Links Mercury Pollution to Coal-Fired Power Plants
Case Updates:
February 15, 2006
A new study soon to be published is making headlines with evidence that directly links mercury pollution to dirty coal-fired power plants. The research—funded by the EPA and headed up by scientist Matthew Landis—involved a combination of rain gathering devices, chemical analysis, and meteorological data that was used to trace mercury back to its original source. The study shows conclusively that over 70% of the mercury gathered from precipitation at the monitors came from coal-fired power plants as far as 400 miles away. The findings directly contradict the reasoning used by the Bush administration in March 2005 when it issued mercury regulations based on the assumption that only 8% of mercury precipitation could be linked to U.S. power plants.
The results are particularly interesting in light of our ongoing litigation against the Stuart Generating Station, which is within the 400 mile radius of the mercury monitoring site located Steubenville. The polluting plant is the largest source of particulate (soot) pollution in the state of Ohio, and operates with little or no controls over soot, sulfur dioxide and mercury. Since filing our lawsuit in September 2004, the court has refused requests by the company to dismiss the case or to limit the scope of the lawsuit. Currently, we are in the discovery process with over 20,000 pages in documents exchanged to date. Stay tuned to find out about oral arguments and other case milestones as they occur.
September 21, 2004
Citing the Bush Administration's continued refusal to enforce Clean Air laws against the polluting J.M. Stuart Generating Station, the Sierra Club filed a federal Clean Air Act citizen suit against the power plant. The lawsuit comes on the heels of a July notice letter to the Administration warning that a lawsuit would be filed unless immediate action was taken to enforce the Clean Air Act and protect local communities at risk from air pollution. Read more about the story in our latest press release.
July 21, 2004
On July 21, the Sierra Club launched a legal action to protect Ohioans from the quarter-billion pounds of soot, sulfur dioxide and mercury spewed into the air every year by one single aging coal plant run by Dayton Power and Light. The Clinton administration cited the plant in 2000 for repeated violations of the Clean Air Act. The Bush administration has refused to follow up on the violations, instead letting the plant continue to dump massive quantities of pollution into the air, jeopardizing the health of communities in Ohio and downwind states. The so-called "Stuart Generating Station" is the largest source of particulate (soot) pollution in the state of Ohio, and operates with little or no controls over soot, sulfur dioxide and mercury. The Sierra Club's action, if successful, would compel the corporate owners of the plant to install modern pollution control equipment, reducing sulfur dioxide pollution by over 100,000 tons per year and drastically reducing soot and mercury pollution.
Details and Documents:
MERCURY: EPA study links fallout in Ohio to nearby coal-burning plants
February 15, 2006, by Darren Samuelsohn, Greenwire Subscription required
Bush Administration Fails to Enforce Clean Air Act
September 21, 2004 Sierra Club Press Release
Sierra Club Challenges Dirty Ohio Power Plant
July 21, 2004 Sierra Club Press Release
Dayton Power Notice of Violation
719kb PDF
Notice Letter to Stuart Generating Station
72kb PDF
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