Glen Hooks - glen.hooks@sierraclub.org or 501-744-2674
Vanessa Ramos - vanessa.ramos@sierraclub.org or 512-586-1853
Angela Gonzales - agonzales@npca.org or 202-878-0359
Little Rock, AR. - The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has finalized new regulations that would roll back emission standards for power plants in Arkansas. The state plan replaces strong federal standards that were issued years ago by the U.S. EPA to protect the air we breathe with a weak state plan.
Entergy’s White Bluff and Independence coal plants are Arkansas's biggest air polluters and emit pollution in some of the state’s most pristine areas including Caney Creek and the Upper Buffalo Wilderness areas in the Ouachita Mountains. Pollution from these coal plants also impact public lands across the state lines into Missouri and Tennessee.
Failing to require common sense controls on the aging White Bluff and Independence plants will ensure that the plants remain among the largest sources of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution in the nation. Communities in Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri face significant impacts to air quality from these coal plants, especially during warm weather months that bring of smog and red alert ozone days.
“Simply put: ADEQ’s plan makes our state’s air quality worse, not better. The former regional haze plan in place required Arkansas’s oldest and dirtiest coal-burning power plants to install pollution controls that would improve air quality and visibility, said Glen Hooks, Director of the Arkansas Sierra Club. “ADEQ’s weak replacement plan lets the polluters off the hook by requiring virtually no action. In short, our state’s environmental regulators have authored a plan that results in more pollution for Arkansas, not less.”
“ADEQ’s action is bad for our health and bad for our parks,” said Charles McPhedran, an attorney with Earthjustice. “The old rule was better on both counts. The new rule falls short.”
“By rolling back rules meant to clear our skies and clean up the air we breathe by reducing pollution from coal plants, ADEQ is prioritizing private interests over the health of its communities, environment and public lands. said Stephanie Kodish, Clean Air Program Director for National Parks Conservation Association. “ADEQ must uphold its mission to protect the natural environment for the well-being of all Arkansans, and neighboring states and that means making clean air a priority.”
ADEQ documents found here
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.