WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Colorado Springs Utilities Put on Notice of Clean Air Violations

Coal-fired Power Plant in Downtown Colorado Springs Threatens Public Health
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 437-7663 jnichols@wildearthguardians.org

Colorado Springs, CO—Moving to safeguard public health and clean air, WildEarth Guardians today put Colorado Springs Utilities on notice of an impending lawsuit over thousands of violations of the Clean Air Act at the Martin Drake coal-fired power plant.

“This massive coal-fired power plant is taking a tremendous toll on the health of the community,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians.  “It’s time to confront the harmful pollution coming out of Martin Drake’s stacks and it’s time for Colorado Springs Utilities to acknowledge the need to move beyond coal.”

According to Colorado Springs Utilities’ own records submitted to the State of Colorado, the utility has regularly failed to monitor air pollution from the smokestacks of the coal-fired Martin Drake power plant, which is located in downtown Colorado Springs.  WildEarth Guardians has posted these records, called “Excess Emission Reports,” in a dropbox folder available here >>

By law, utilities are required to continuously monitor opacity, or the thickness of air pollution, released by the stacks of their coal-fired power plants.  Opacity is an indicator of particulate matter.  Particulate matter includes soot, toxic metals, and droplets of acidic gases, and is blamed for serious and adverse health effects including asthma attacks, bronchitis, heart attacks, and premature death.

Records from Colorado Springs Utilities show that in the last five years, their continuous opacity monitors have failed for a total of over 300 hours and violated the Clean Air Act more than 3,000 times.

Under the Clean Air Act, polluters can be fined up to $37,500 per violation.  Colorado Springs Utilities faces more than $100 million in fines for its violations.

“It’s time for Colorado Springs Utilities to stop turning its back on our clean air laws,” said Nichols. “Monitoring air pollution is critical to ensuring protection of public health; these lapses in measurements are a disturbing sign that people are in danger.”

Located in downtown Colorado Springs, the coal-fired Martin Drake power plant is the largest coal burning power plant in the Colorado Springs region and has been under fire for its impacts to local public health.  The plant releases massive amounts of sulfur dioxide gases, which modeling data indicates is jeopardizing the health of the community.  Although the plant burns coal, it is capable of burning natural gas.

Colorado Springs Utilities and the Colorado Springs Utilities Board, which is comprised of the City Council, has been under fire for continuing to operate the coal-fired power plant and spending millions to retrofit the 40 year-old power plant with modern pollution controls.  Although the Board has taken steps to move toward retiring the aging coal-fired power plant, recent decisions indicate the plant is likely to operate and burn coal for another 20 years.

The plant is also one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide in Colorado. Martin Drake includes three coal-fired boilers and three smokestacks that spew 7,900 pounds of hydrochloric acid, 31 pounds of mercury, and other toxic chemicals every year.

Under the Clean Air Act, citizens, including citizen groups, can take legal action to stop clean air violations, impose fines, and protect public health.  Before filing suit, citizens must notify the polluters and give them a chance to remedy the violations within 60 days. 

If the violations are not remedied, citizens can file suit in federal court anytime after the 60 days are tolled.

WildEarth Guardians has previously successfully sued Xcel Energy over the company’s failure to continuously monitor opacity at its coal-fired power plant in north Denver. 

If Colorado Springs Utilities does not commit to ensuring continuous air pollution monitoring at Martin Drake, then Guardians intends to file suit in federal court to put an end to ongoing violations of the Clean Air Act.