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Chalk Point hit with federal suit
Group, citizens claim bad oil burned
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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Three Mechanicsville residents have joined a nonprofit environmental group in filing a federal lawsuit against a southern Prince George's County power plant for allegedly burning cheap, dirty fuel oil for at least three years in violation of state and federal law.
Plaintiffs Chris Schmitthenner and Norton and Nancy Dodge have joined the Chesapeake Climate Action Network in charging that Mirant Mid-Atlantic's Chalk Point power plant on the Patuxent River, bordering both Charles and Calvert counties, has been showering their homes with illegal particulate matter from its two oil-burning "peak unit" boilers.
The lawsuit, filed June 25, seeks no financial compensation, but requests that regulators work to resolve emission concerns at the plant. It alleges Mirant has burned "residual fuel," also known as No. 6 fuel oil or "bunker oil," in some generators at the Chalk Point power plant located just north of Benedict more than 100 times since 2006.
"It's the dirtiest fuel there is," said Jen Peterson, an attorney who filed the lawsuit in federal court in Baltimore on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Project. EIP also spearheaded a lawsuit last year against Mirant's Faulkner fly ash disposal facility in Charles County. "There's a very simple solution to this. We want them to stop."
The lawsuit alleges that the unsafe smoke that can travel up to 248 miles, is a violation of the Federal Clean Air Act.
Peterson's group filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a nonprofit group based in Montgomery County, as well as the three St. Mary's plaintiffs and David Bookbinder of Accokeek.
"We've been inflicted with it for many years," said Norton Dodge, who lives seven miles from the plant in Mechanicsville. "It doesn't get me any [healthier]. It's like living next to a main highway."
"It's just an awful chemical burning smell," said Nancy Dodge, who complained that she has to close her windows to keep soot from collecting in her house.
Schmitthenner and Bookbinder could not be reached for comment.
The company could clean up emissions by installing traps to catch particles in the smoke or it could switch to burning cleaner natural gas in place of the residual oil that it uses to save money, Peterson said.
The Chalk Point power plant is the largest coal-burning plant in the state. It has four boilers that burn coal and fuel oil to generate electric power. Mirant spokeswoman Misty Allen said the plant can generate up to 2,400 megawatts of power, enough to run about 2.4 million homes. The oil-burning peak units can generate up to 600 megawatts each, and they are designed to be used during high-demand periods, usually during the hottest and coldest days of the year.
Allen stated that it is Mirant's policy not to comment on pending litigation. But she said the company decides which fuel to use on a case-by-case basis for emergencies.
"It's based on the availability of the fuel, and what we have on hand," Allen said.
The company has never been cited by the Environmental Protection Agency or state environmental regulators for its practices, Allen said. The company and environmental regulators were notified of the group's intent to sue in January.
By using residual fuel, the plant is producing dirty smoke, Peterson said. The complaint cites delivery orders of the residual fuel and EPA monitoring reports that allegedly show that the fuel routinely exceeded acceptable levels for sulfur dioxide, a chemical linked to heart disease and respiratory problems.
The plant was listed as one of the dirtiest in the state by a 2006 Harvard study, Peterson said.
The environmental group is focusing on the fuel-burning boilers because it fears they may be used more often in the future as regulators place new restrictions on coal-burning plants, Peterson said.
The lawsuit also faults the company for not installing dust collectors or other pollution controls to reduce emissions.
Allen said Mirant is in the middle of a $1.6 billion upgrade to the group's coal-burning plants to install scrubbers that will filter out sulfur, nitrogen and mercury before they leave the smoke stacks. The measures are expected to be complete by early 2010.
"It's not like we operate them willy-nilly," Allen said.
The case is waiting for Mirant Mid-Atlantic attorneys to respond.
