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West Virginia's John Amos power plant is first in nation for the largest net increase of CO2 emissions, from 1995 to 2003, according to the Ohio Valley Environmental Council.
Sixty-four percent of West Virginia's dirtiest power plants have increased
pollution in past decade.
The Bush administrations "Clear Skies" bill will allow the problem to worsen. The Ohio Valley Environmental Council says it should be called "Clear Lies."
As a key U.S. Senate committee considers the
Bush administration's bill to delay and weaken clean air safeguards,
a new Clear the Air report released today by several West Virginia
Environmental groups and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group
(U.S. PIRG) finds that 64% percent of West Virginia's oldest and
dirtiest power plants are getting dirtier, not cleaner.
"When it comes to power plant pollution, many of West Virginia's
dirtiest power plants just keep getting dirtier," said U.S. PIRG
Clean Air Organizer Debra Gemme. "Pollution from power plants fuels
global warming and causes serious health problems, including asthma
attacks, heart and lung disease, and even premature deaths."
With research finding adverse health effects from air pollution at
levels once considered safe, more people than ever live in areas that
fail to meet national health standards, including areas of the Mountain State.
According to the new report, annual soot-forming sulfur dioxide (SO2)
and smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions increased at many of
West Virginia's oldest and dirtiest power plants from 1995 to 2003,
even while the Clean Air Act reduced power plant emissions of the
pollutants statewide. The law's "cap-and-trade" rules allow dirtier
plants to forego cleanup by buying pollution "credits" from cleaner
facilities.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased at most power
plants and statewide there are no federal limits on CO2 emissions.
The Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, Ohio
Valley Environmental Coalition, Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition
(formerly Citizens for Alternatives to Longview Power), West Virginia
Environmental Council and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy joined
U.S PIRG in releasing the report in West Virginia.
"Some West Virginia citizens are paying extra for the nation to have
cheap energy. The past decade shows that pollution trading puts the
health of communities near the oldest and dirtiest coal burning power
plants at risk."
"While the Clean Air Act has reduced emissions
statewide, without specific requirements for every plant to meet
modern pollution standards, West Virginia's dirtiest power plants
continue to smother their neighbors with increased amounts of
pollution they belch from their plants," said Cindy Rank of the West
Virginia Highlands Conservancy.
"We know how to solve the air pollution problem, but the Bush
administration's air pollution bill will set us back decades," Gemme
said. "The bill creates a permanent loophole in the law for the
dirtiest power plants."
"Those of us who live downwind from power plants like AEP's John Amos
are needlessly subject to heavy air pollution thanks to lax
enforcement of the Clean Air Act. There's no need for Bush to
legalize power companies' illegal behavior," said the West Virginia
Environmental Council's Denise Poole.
"We have the solution at hand and that's enforcing the current Clean
Air Act and getting real pollution caps in place," said Joe Lovett,
Director of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the
Environment. "All power plants should be required to meet modern air
pollution standards."
Findings
. Sixty-four percent of the state's dirtiest power plants
increased their annual CO2 emissions from 1995 to 2003, an emissions
increase equivalent to putting 1,868,657 more average cars on West
Virginia's roads.
. West Virginia's John E. Amos power plant in Putnam County
ranked 1st in the nation for the largest net increase in annual CO2
emissions from 1995 to 2003. The plant increased its annual CO2
emissions by 6,393,582 tons, the emissions equivalent of putting
1,116,783 more average cars on West Virginia's roads.
. John Amos power plant ranked 4th in the nation for the
largest net increase in annual SO2 emissions from 1995 to 2003, an
emissions increase equivalent to building 15 typical new power plants
in the state.
. John Amos power plant ranked 7th in the nation for the
largest net increase in annual NOx emissions from 1995 to 2003, an
emissions increase equivalent to putting 410,000 more average cars on
West Virginia's roads.
. Seven of West Virginia's dirtiest power plants that increased
their annual SO2 emissions since 1995 are located in areas that
violate the national health standard for fine particle soot.
. Two of West Virginia's dirtiest power plants that increased
their annual NOx emissions since 1995 (John Amos and Mitchell) are
located in areas that violate the national health standard for ozone
smog.
The Bush administration's so-called "Clear Skies" bill would delay by
at least a decade - until after 2018 - and dilute SO2 and NOx
reductions called for in the Clean Air Act, repeal New Source Review
for power plants, and repeal or significantly weaken other
plant-specific clean air programs to rely instead on pollution
trading, while ignoring global warming altogether. Earlier this
month, the National Academy of Sciences confirmed that the
administration's bill is weaker than current law for individual power
plants.
"If there were requirements for truth in government labeling, the
'Clear Skies' initiative would be called 'Clear Lies.' We have to
remember that this initiative came from vice president Dick Cheney's
secret meetings with energy executives and their lobbyists.
This
exclusive club of the nation's biggest polluters had been pushing for
years to replace the New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air
Act with this cap and trade scheme," said Vivian Stockman, project
coordinator for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. "They've
been salivating for this change, and they sure weren't thinking about
our kids' lungs when they colluded on this plan."
The Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air,
Climate Change, and Nuclear Safety is holding a hearing on the
administration's bill today.
"I hope Senators Byrd and Rockefeller will join with medical
professionals and public health advocates in publicly opposing the
Bush administration's bill," said Poole.
E-mail vivian@ohvec.org for a copy of the
report, or visit www.uspirg.org | 
