Kentucky Utilities, Clean Air Act Violations, Kentucky 2023
Kentucky Utilities (KU), a coal-fired electric utility, has been caught violating the Clean Air Act by modifying its largest generating unit without installing required pollution control equipment or complying with applicable emission limits.
The company has agreed to pay a $1.4 million civil penalty and spend approximately $135 million on pollution controls to resolve the violations, which the Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.
KU has agreed to install new pollution control equipment on its largest generating unit that will reduce combined emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by more than 31,000 tons per year, which is 90 percent below the 2007 emission levels.
The company will also install controls to reduce particulate matter emissions by approximately 1,000 tons per year.
As part of the settlement, KU will also spend approximately $3 million on projects to benefit the environment and mitigate the adverse effects of the alleged violations, including:
Contributing $1.8 million to a pilot project on the effectiveness of storing compressed carbon dioxide gas, a by-product of coal combustion, in deep injection wells;
Spending $1 million to retrofit school buses with filters or other controls to reduce emissions of particulate matter; and
Paying $200,000 to the National Park Service to help restore Mammoth Cave National Park, located in Kentucky.
KU has agreed to surrender the excess nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide allowances it will have after installing the pollution controls. Coal-fired power plants are allowed to emit sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides as allowances, which are granted under federal or state acid rain permits. Once surrendered, these allowances cannot be used again, thus removing the emissions from the environment permanently.
“This settlement will result in the substantial reduction of harmful emissions, and will benefit air quality in Kentucky and downwind areas,” said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Justice Department will spare no effort in its pursuit of emission reductions from power plants across the country to achieve the benefits envisioned by the Clean Air Act.”
“Today’s settlement sets the most stringent limit for nitrogen oxide emissions ever imposed in a federal settlement with a coal-fired power plant,” said Catherine McCabe, Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA is committed to ensuring our nation's coal-fired power plants comply with the Clean Air Act. Pollutants from these facilities can cause severe respiratory problems, contribute to childhood asthma, and contribute to smog and haze.”
The Justice Department and the EPA announced the settlement today, March 20, 2007, in Washington. The settlement is part of the EPA’s enforcement initiative to control harmful emissions from coal-fired power plants under the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review requirements.
The total combined sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emission reductions secured from these settlements will exceed more than 1.8 million tons each year once all the required pollution controls have been installed and implemented.
Kentucky Utilities, a coal-fired electric utility, has agreed to settle Clean Air Act violations by paying a $1.4 million fine and spending $135 million on pollution controls. The company has agreed to install new pollution control equipment on its largest generating unit and surrender excess nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide allowances.
Defendant: Kentucky Utilities
Crime: Clean Air Act Violations
City and State: Washington, D.C. (announced in), but actual crime happened in Mercer County, Kentucky
Exact Date: March 20, 2007
Sentence or Outcome: Paid $1.4 million fine, spent $135 million on pollution controls
Dollar Amounts: $1.4 million fine, $135 million on pollution controls, $3 million on environmental projects
Key Facts
- State: Kentucky
- Category: Environmental Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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