PGE's coal fired Boardman Power Plant. Photo from Ted Timmons
Environmental groups hope they’ve found another way to force an early closure of Oregon’s only coal fired power plant, the PGE facility near Boardman.
The idea is to make PGE to spend so much money on pollution controls, the utility will decide that shutting down Boardman will be cheaper than cleaning it up.
This new battle over Boardman’s future starts Tuesday evening at a public meeting in Portland. Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality will take comments on PGE’s application for a Title V permit. The permit tells PGE how much pollution is allowed at Boardman – if the plant is to continue operating.
DEQ is calling for big cuts in pollution. They include:
- 46% reductions in nitrogen oxide by 2011, and an 84% reduction by 2017.
- 80% reductions in sulfur dioxide by 2014.
- 90% reductions in mercury by 2011.
But Cescia Kearns of the Oregon Sierra Club says DEQ could, and should, insist on further cuts. For example, instead of an 80% reduction in sulfur dioxide she wants DEQ to require a 90% reduction. She and other environmentalists hope that if DEQ gets tougher on Boardman, the costs of the new controls will be so expensive that PGE will agree to shut down Boardman by 2014.
“We feel they’ve been allowed to pollute for too long,” says Kearns. “Now things are coming home to roost. Now it’s time to clean up or shut down, and shutting down is a better solution.”
In some ways, the anti-Boardman campaign has already scored a major victory. Early this year, PGE said that because of the projected high cost of new pollution controls, it’s willing to close Boardman by 2020. That’s two decades ahead of schedule. But in return, PGE is asking DEQ to relax some of those proposed rules.
Kearns is hoping it’s an offer that DEQ can refuse. The Sierra Club and the Coal Free Oregon campaign are working hard to get supporters to turn out for Tuesday’s hearing. They’re also organizing a rally before the hearing begins.
DEQ can’t order PGE to close Boardman. That’s a decision that belongs to the state’s Public Utility Commission. The PUC will hold hearings this summer on PGE’s operating plan for the future, known as the Integrated Resource Plan. Sierra Club will continue to pressure the PUC to order a 2014 closure of Boardman, if DEQ can’t – or won’t – apply enough pressure to make it happen.
Details:
- When: Rally and briefing for supporters begins at 6:00pm. Hearing begins at 6:30pm.
- Where: DEQ Portland Headquarters, Room EQC-A (10th floor), 811 SW 6th Ave, Portland.
Related Stories:
Oregonian: PGE plan suggests shorter time frame to close Boardman coal-fired power plant
Natural Oregon: Sierra Club: PGE Still Needs To Shut Down Boardman By 2014
Natural Oregon: More Views On PGE’s Early Shut Down Of Boardman
