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Department of Ecology News Release - September 11, 2009
09-223
OLYMPIA — On Sept. 8, 2009, the Department of Ecology (Ecology) announced that a proposed air pollution reduction agreement between Ecology and TransAlta, the owner and operator of a coal fired power plant in Centralia, is available for public review and comment through November 9.
The proposed agreement would reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide, a haze producing conventional air pollutant and mercury, a toxic air pollutant.
On Sept 10, the Sierra Club and three other organizations issued a statement critical of the proposed agreement.
In response, Ecology Director Jay Manning issued the following statement, setting the record straight on several facts in the groups' statement:
These organizations have every right to criticize or oppose the agreement, but the statement they issued was so riddled with factual inaccuracies that a response is necessary. Here we set the record straight on the proposed agreement. We look forward to a robust, fact-based and interactive public review process.
MERCURY: The statement asserts that the proposed agreement "wholly fails to protect Washington's families" from the risk posed by mercury emissions at the TransAlta coal plant, that the protections are "totally inadequate" and that there are loopholes in the agreement that would allow TransAlta to avoid any reductions in mercury emissions.
Ecology certainly agrees that mercury is a dangerous air pollutant that poses a real threat to Washington's citizens. That's precisely why the proposed agreement requires installation and operation of a state-of-the-art mercury reduction technology, which we expect will reduce mercury emissions by 50 percent by 2012. In order to meet this initial mercury reduction requirement, Trans Alta is already installing the mercury reduction technology.
A 50 percent reduction in mercury emissions at TransAlta is a very significant reduction — we estimate approximately 200 pounds per year — one of the single most important actions we can take in Washington to reduce mercury in the environment. There are no loopholes in the proposed agreement that could possibly result in no decrease in mercury emissions. If TransAlta doesn't meet its mercury obligations, Ecology is free to use its traditional regulatory authority to require the agreed-to reductions. As mentioned above, TransAlta is now installing state-of-the-art mercury controls. We are very confident that the proposed agreement will result in a mercury reduction of 50 percent or very close to it - earlier than could be achieved through a regulatory process.
NITROGEN OXIDE: The groups' statement asserts that the proposed agreement "provides no new controls on the coal plant's nitrogen oxide pollution." Under the proposed agreement, TransAlta will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide by 20 percent by Oct. 1, 2009, and the company already has installed the control technology necessary to meet this emission reduction. This is two to five years earlier than TransAlta would have been required to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions if we had not reached this agreement. This will have an immediate beneficial impact in reducing haze across the region and improving air quality and views and vistas in our National Parks and Wilderness Areas.
GREENHOUSE GASES: The groups' statement criticizes the proposed agreement for not requiring reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases ("GHG's"). What the advocacy groups fail to mention is that Executive Order 09-05, issued by Gov. Chris Gregoire in May 2009, will result in TransAlta meeting the state's aggressive greenhouse gas emission performance standard by 2025. By meeting this standard, TransAlta will achieve a 50 percent reduction in GHG emissions. This betters by 25 years the statutory requirement established in 2008 of a 50 percent reduction by 2050.
Gov. Gregoire has led our effort to be a national leader in reducing GHG emissions. We have worked hard to make sure that TransAlta, the single largest source of greenhouse gases in the state, does its part to meet our GHG reduction targets. In fact, under the Governor's executive order, TransAlta will meet its reduction obligation 25 years earlier than other major sources. TransAlta deserves significant credit for stepping up to this significant challenge.
In sum, the outcome we seek is a 20 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions within the next month, a 50 percent reduction in mercury emissions by 2012, and a 50 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2025, while retaining hundreds of jobs in Lewis County and a very important source of electrical power.
We look forward to a lively discussion with the public about whether this outcome is the right one, about risk, about costs and benefits and other concerns brought to us by citizens across the state. We believe that dialogue is facilitated by accurate information, and we encourage all people and organizations interested in this critical issue to help us make this a constructive and fact-based discussion.
Ecology will accept comments on the proposed agreement from Sept. 8 through Nov. 9. A public hearing is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Ecology headquarters, 300 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey.
Here is more information about the proposed agreement to reduce nitrogen oxide and mercury pollution from the Centralia plant: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2009news/2009-221.html
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Media Contact: Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239 (desk); kim.schmanke@ecy.wa.gov
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
