WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Dirty Energy Denied

Judge Holds Clean Air Violations at Lamar, Colorado Coal-fired Power Plant can be Enforced by WildEarth Guardians
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x 1303

Denver—Finding that clean air violations were likely to continue, a federal judge late last week ruled that WildEarth Guardians could hold the coal-fired power plant in Lamar, Colorado accountable for its illegal air pollution.

“Dirty energy is dangerous energy and this ruling ensures we can move to make Lamar and southeastern Colorado safer from harmful air pollution from this coal-fired power plant,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’ Climate and Energy Program Director.  “Our members in Lamar are breathing a sigh of relief, now all we need is real accountability.”

The coal-fired power plant in Lamar, Colorado has tallied up thousands of air quality violations since it started operation in 2009.  The 43 megawatt power plant in southeastern Colorado, which is owned and operated by the Arkansas River Power Authority, was converted from natural gas to coal.  Since beginning operation, the plant has been plagued with problems and has been unable to consistently meet air pollution limits meant to protect public health and welfare.

WildEarth Guardians filed suit in early 2011 based on the Arkansas River Power Authority’s own reports of more than 2,000 clean air violations.  The utility’s reports, which were submitted to the State of Colorado, revealed violations of limits on sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide gases, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter, all of which are linked to number of adverse health effects.

Since then, the plant has tallied up even more violations.  Between July and October 2011, the plant exceeded its pollution limits and monitoring requirements on hundreds of occasions.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Krieger in Denver rejected an argument by the Arkansas River Power Authority that an out-of-court settlement agreement with the State of Colorado would prevent clean air violations from ever happening again at the coal-fired power plant.  Judge Krieger pointed to the fact that, despite two out-of-court settlements with Colorado, clean air violations continued to occur at the plant.  

“Colorado has been utterly incapable of ensuring this coal-fired power plant complies with clean air laws,” said Nichols.  “Thankfully, the judge recognized this and gave the green light for WildEarth Guardians to do the job right.”

In rejecting the Authority’s arguments, the Judge stated, “...the Court notes nothing in the record that indicates that the system(s) responsible for prior permit violations has been corrected such that the Defendants can say with some assurance that the Plant can resume operations in accordance with the permit’s restrictions.”

The ruling means that WildEarth Guardians can prosecute the violations at the Lamar power plant and compel the Arkansas River Power Authority to clean up.  In addition, the ruling means that WildEarth Guardians can compel the utility to pay civil penalties. Under the Clean Air Act, the Authority could be penalized as much as $37,500 per day for each violation, meaning the utilities face more than $75,000,000 in penalties.

Under the Clean Air Act, citizens can file suit in federal court under the Clean Air Act against polluters that are violating their permit.  As Judge Krieger noted in her ruling, “The purpose of the citizen suit provision is to ‘aid enforcement of the [Clean Air] Act while motivating governmental agencies charged with the responsibility to bring enforcement and abatement proceedings.’”

WildEarth Guardians is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the wildlife, wild places, and wild rivers of the American West.  With over4,500 members in the West and offices in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, WildEarth Guardians works to promote clean energy and hold fossil fuels accountable to protecting public health and the environment.