Cleaning the Air and Clearing the Docket

A reality of environmental protection is that a great deal of it is forced on companies by laws or regulations, and, at least on the federal level, the vast majority of them end up in court.  Usually for years. The EPA, trumpeting the "largest single environmental settlement in history" today, says it’s gotten American Electric Power, one of the world’s largest electric companies, "to cut 813,000 tons of air pollutants annually at an estimated cost of more than $4.6 billion, pay a $15 million penalty, and spend $60 million on projects to mitigate the adverse effects of its past excess emissions."  Their full statement is posted HERE, and the consent decree (a 104-page agreement filed for public comment in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio) is HERE. The EPA says the settlement will save $32 billion a year in health costs for Americans with heart and lung problems. American Electric Power has a different take: the settlement is not a record, says the company, and its value is that it’s "bringing an end to almost eight years of litigation regarding alleged violations of the New Source Review (NSR) provisions of the Clean Air Act. AEP admits no violations of law, and all claims against AEP were released."  See the rest of their release HERE.  The company tells Jason Ryan of our staff that the government is including $2.6 billion the company already spent on emission control improvements at their power plants since 2004.  By that measure, the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989–still in the courts–was a larger settlement.  But, to many, the AEP case has gone on long enough.  The settlement stems from a suit filed in November 1999, in the closing days of the Clinton administration.  The government then was trying to force AEP to clean up the emissions from coal-fired plants it ran in five states from Indiana to Virginia, arguing that they contributed to smog and acid rain in the northeast. This morning on Salon, Andrew Leonard argues that in the Bush years, the EPA made a "bald-faced attempt to betray its reason for existence" and weaken the rules for coal-burning power plants, but was blocked by a federal appeals court.  "One could not ask for a clearer demonstration of the political priorities of the Democratic and Republican parties with respect to the environment," writes Leonard. "The pro-acid rain GOP attempted to make it easier for power companies to pollute. A Democratic administration attempted to make it harder. After a battle royale, the environment came out the winner. This time."
(AP Photo above of AEP’s Gavin power plant in Cheshire, Ohio, one of the 16 included in the settlement.)