Conscious Choice: Poison Power

September 1998 | News of the Earth

Poison Power

by Ben Lilliston

What do an explosion at a Hammond, Indiana power plant, Commonwealth Edison’s announcement to sell its coal-fired plants, and the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s attacks on his opponent for not protecting clean air, all have in common? They are all indicative of very real threats posed by Illinois’ aging coal-fired power plants.

The explosion at the Hammond, Indiana Southern Energy Company plant injured 17 people and caused lights to flicker across Chicago before a back-up power systems kicked in. The blast is the third fire this year at a coal-burning facility owned by Commonwealth Edison or that supplies power to the utility. According to John Thompson of the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC), the explosions represent a danger inherent in older coal-powered plants — their fire suppression mechanism is not as quick.

But an even greater danger to public health comes from the large amounts of pollution that coal-fired plants built before 1977 are allowed to emit. Illinois now has 22 such plants which are exempt from current Clean Air Act requirements that other power plants must meet. These older plants are polluting as much as ten times more than new ones. In 1997, Illinois coal-fired plants emitted 240,000 tons of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), or as much NOx as the annual pollution from 12 million cars. That is nearly twice as many cars as registered in Illinois. NOx emissions are a major source of ground-level ozone smog which irritates sensitive nose and lung tissue causing chest pain and breathing difficulties.

Also in 1997, Illinois plants emitted 722,000 tons of Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) — fine particulates — above the current clean air standards. Fine particulate pollution has been attributed to 5,570 premature deaths a year in Illinois and 3,767 in the city of Chicago alone, according to a 1996 study by the Environmental Working Group. Illinois Power’s Baldwin Plant is the largest single source of SO2 in North America, and Baldwin’s NOx emissions are the seventh largest of power plants in the country.

Now, Illinois environmentalists see several real opportunities to take on these polluting coal plants. One such opportunity lies with Commonwealth Edison’s announcement this summer that it plans to sell its coal-fired power plants. Absent from the press coverage of the potential sale of these coal plants was Com Ed’s recognition that the older plants may have to be substantially upgraded to meet tougher Clean Air standards — an additional cost for the beleaguered company. With the potential sale of these power plants, the Illinois Commerce Commission (icc) could in fact require the new owners to meet current Clean Air standards as a condition for approving the deal.

The older power plants that Com Ed hopes to sell are among the state’s biggest polluters. Com Ed plants in Waukegan, Crawford, Fisk, Will, Joliet, Powerton, and Kincaid counties emitted over 37 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 1997, more than any other utility in Illinois, according to IEC. It is estimated that if these plants were required to meet current Clean Air Act requirements, NOx pollution emissions would fall by 78 percent, and SO2 emissions would drop by 55,748 tons at Com Ed plants.

Not surprisingly, the right for these coal-fired plants to pollute has been vigorously defended by the aggressive lobbying tactics of the utility industry. This year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new, more stringent rules that would further limit NOx and SO2 emissions and take away the old loophole currently enjoyed by older coal power plants. The utility industry coordinated a ferocious response during the comment period for the new rule, and introduced their own proposed rule. The differences in the two proposed rules are not small. The EPA proposal would reduce Midwest power plant smog emissions to 213,000 tons in the summer. The utility proposal would allow smog emissions of 483,000 tons during the summer.

The utility industry also tried to work behind the scenes to coordinate a response from Midwest governors to the EPA. An embarrassing utility strategy memo in the form of an e-mail was widely reported in East Coast newspapers. The memo from a prominent utility lobbyist outlined a strategy in which the Midwest governors would push an only slightly watered-down version of the utility industry’s proposal. The utility companies would then "audibly grumble about the stringency of the proposal. Utilities should be prepared to complain about the costs and the difficulty of complying with the established deadlines." But in the end, the utilities would support the governors’ proposal.

Only Governors John Engler (MI) and George Voinovich (OH) signed onto the utility proposal. However, all of the comments from Great Lakes governors attempted to weaken the EPA proposal to some extent.

Certainly, both of Illinois’ gubernatorial candidates are paying attention to the coal power plant issue, and it may become the key environmental issue in the race. In late July, Illinois Republican candidate George Ryan called for the reauthorization of the Clean Air Act and pledged to work to improve air quality. He criticized Democratic candidate Glenn Poshard for voting against the Clean Air Act amendments in 1990. Ryan went on to run scorching TV attack ads on Poshard criticizing his record on clean air.

To counter Ryan’s attacks, Poshard has joined environmentalists in calling on the Interstate Commerce Commission to condition the sale of Commonwealth Edison power plants to include modern emission standards.

While most of the power plants are located downstate, their pollution knows no borders. Recently, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (ILEPA) told the U.S. EPA that it can only meet the current smog standard in Metropolitan Chicago if power plants located in down-state Illinois and the Ohio River Valley cut pollution.

Pollution from these power plants is not restricted to Illinois. Northeast states have long complained about Midwest plants polluting their cities. More recently, Canada has charged that 50 percent of the pollutants that cause ozone come from Midwest states. According to the Ontario Medical Association, approximately 1,800 Ontarians die prematurely from poisons in the air annually.

"Air pollution from U.S. electric power plants adversely effects public health on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border," says John Bennett of the Sierra Club of Canada. "This issue has international implications."

The human health implications of these older power plants continue to be documented. (See July/August 1998 issue of Conscious Choice). Those at risk include children, the elderly, and members of minority groups who are often more likely to live where air pollution is highest.

Another key factor in the future of coal power power in Illinois is deregulation. Last year, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation which would deregulate the utility industry, allowing consumers in the year 2002 to choose their own utility company. Ultimately, the question of how Illinois’ aging fleet of coal-fired plants will be regulated could determine their role in consumers’ choices for power companies.

"As Illinois moves into the new world of competition, it’s imperative that old and new plants meet the same standards," says Thompson. "If we don’t level the playing field under which plants compete, deregulation will not lead to new, modern plants. We will simply have the worst of all worlds — an aging fleet of old polluting coal plants that will be increasingly less reliable than new plants."

For more information on fighting coal-fired power plants, contact: John Thompson, Illinois Environmental Council, 800-99-79-AIR, 509 W. Sycamore, Carbondale, IL 62901.

National
A recent study out of Arizona State University found that air pollution in East Coast cities is affecting the weather in the Atlantic ocean. The study found that the weekly cycles of East Coast cities, which involve heavy emissions of ozone and carbon dioxide building toward the end of the work week, correspond with variability in rainfall and tropical cyclones during the weekend. Researchers found that near-coastal ocean areas receive significantly more weekend precipitation than on weekdays.

According to the lead researcher, Arizona State University climatologist Randall Cerveny , "We appear to be affecting global weather on a scale that is comparable to El Niño."

The evidence on global climate change continues. According to figures released by the White House, July was the hottest month on the planet since reliable record-keeping began more than a century ago. The average global temperature last month was 61.7 degrees Fahrenheit, about 1.26 degrees above normal for July and nearly half a degree higher than the previous all-time monthly record set in July 1997, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. July is now the seventh consecutive month in which global temperatures broke the previous record for that period.

State
In a major victory for environmentalists, Governor Jim Edgar has elected to move the site of a planned maximum security prison from a rare sand prairie near the Mississippi River to a nearby cornfield. As documented in last issues News of the Earth, Department of Corrections officials had planned on building the prison within the Savanna Army Depot, which encompasses thousands of acres of native sand prairie and rare plant and animal species. The new site is expected to save state money because it will require less earth moving and fewer infrastructure improvements. A broad coalition of environmental groups from around the state pressured Edgar to change the prison location.

A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that Illinois ranked tenth in the country for beach closings in 1997. Last year, at least 90 lake side beach closings and advisories were issued in Illinois. In Chicago, Jackson Park closed the most often due to elevated bacteria levels. In Lake County, Waukegan North Beach, Waukegan South Beach, and Illinois Beach State Park South closed the most frequently due to urban runoff. Elevated bacteria levels are usually due to sewage or stormwater discharges. Disease-causing microorganisms in contaminated waters can cause a wide range of diseases, including gastroenteritis; dysentery; hepatitis; ear, nose, and throat problems; and respiratory illness.

Local
More evidence that polluting the environment isn’t good business: A financial analyst last month recommended that the owner of the Robbins incinerator figure out a way to unload the financially-troubled incinerator. Last year, the owners of the Robbins incinerator, Foster Wheeler Corp., established a $60 million reserve with the understanding that the money would last into 1999. But Foster Wheeler recently announced that money will likely run out in October of this year.

Problems have persisted at the Robbins facility since it began operating last summer. In April, the U.S. EPA charged that the incinerator had violated air pollution rules more than 779 times between the summer and December of 1997. The incinerator is currently being investigated by the Illinois attorney general’s office because of fires on June 5 and July 2.

The Grand Calumet River will get $55 million to help with clean-up thanks to a settlement between USX Corp. and state and federal agencies. The nation’s largest steel maker agreed to pay a $2.9 million civil fine and will spend $30 million to remove and dispose of nearly 700,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a five-mile stretch of the river over the next five years — and then spend an additional $22 million to prevent future pollution. Also as part of the agreement, USX will buy 139 acres of property for the National Park Service to expand rare dune and wildlife habitat along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, and 77 acres for Indiana about ten miles to the east along Salt Creek to enhance wildlife habitat near the river and access for fishing and recreational use. The agreement settles charges that USX dumped wastewater contaminated with PCBS, heavy metals such as iron, lead, zinc, cadmium, chromium, and grease, benzene and cyanide into the Grand Calumet since 1992. A bi-lateral U.S.-Canadian panel overseeing the Great Lakes designated the Grand Calumet as an area of concern. A number of environmental groups worked to pressure USX for the settlement including the Grand Calumet Task Force and the Save the Dunes Council.

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