PGE's coal-fired power plant near Boardman, OR. Photo from Brian Pasko.
During my attempts to keep up with the big news about Bradwood Landing, I missed another good story last night.
DEQ held a public meeting about renewing air quality permits for PGE’s coal fired power plant near Boardman.
According to the Oregon Sierra Club, the place was jammed with people wanting to speak out.
Since I couldn’t make it, I will pass along the Sierra Club’s press release on the event. Please keep in mind that this is not my version of what happened.
By Cesia Kearns, Oregon Sierra Club
Last night, at the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) headquarters, over one hundred Oregonians packed a public hearing room, delivering a powerful request asking the DEQ not to let Portland General Electric (PGE) off the hook, but to be held to the highest standards possible in controlling toxic air emissions from their coal-fired power plant located in Boardman. The hearing concerned the renewal of the Title V operating permit which would regulate acid rain causing pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, which causes serious health and environmental impacts including asthma, and erasure of the irreplaceable petroglyphs in the Columbia River Gorge. The current version of the permit does not go far enough to regulate sulfur dioxide; it should include regulation such as the 1978 New Source Performance Standard that requires a 90% reduction in sulfur dioxide.
A packed crowd attended the hearing. Photo by Oregon Sierra Club
Concerned Oregonians at the hearing expressed weariness in waiting for the DEQ and PGE to address the negative impacts of coal, “PGE has been allowed to avoid installing pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act for decades. We want strong standards – not another free pollution ticket for PGE” said Betty Kaplan, lead volunteer with the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign
The Boardman Coal Plant emits 5 million tons of carbon dioxide, over 15,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide and over 200 pounds of mercury every single year. Sulfur dioxide emissions from the Boardman coal plant also significantly contribute to Regional Haze which pollutes more than 10 of Oregon’s federally protected National Parks, Wilderness Areas, and Scenic Areas, including the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood.
A diverse representation of ages and perspectives were shared at the hearing, including voices from many young people. Students from schools such as Linfield College, Washington State University in Vancouver, and even McMinnville high school shared moving testimony about the major impacts these decisions today have on their future. Nick Engelfried, organizing with the youth climate movement stated, “I’m 22 years old, and it’s the members of my generation who are going to have to deal with the effects of Oregon’s addiction to coal for years to come. We are still waiting for pollution from the plant to be controlled – will I be in my 40’s before we see the DEQ and PGE take air quality and our health seriously?”
Betty Kaplan of the Beyond Coal Campaign. Photo by Oregon Sierra Club.
Kaplan pointed out, “The DEQ has been dragging its heels in holding PGE accountable for these high pollution levels. The agency has been asleep at the wheel while we pay with the health of our lungs and the places we love.” Kaplan delivered over 1,000 letters and petitions to the DEQ asking for stronger pollution controls.
PGE has been allowed to avoid installing pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act for decades, first when it was built, then when the acid rain program first began, again when the plant made physical changes that increased pollution from the plant in the mid-1990s. PGE attempts to sidestep pollution standards again today by proposing to avoid the BART plan, which would also require reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Engelfried further commented, “It’s time for PGE to stand up and face the music – they’ve been polluting unchecked for thirty years, and we deserve better.” he added, “Oregonians deserve full compliance with the highest air quality standards under the Clean Air Act, but the best way to control these toxic emissions is to eliminate them by transitioning Boardman as soon as possible.”
PGE has options for compliance – they can either aggressively clean up their harmful pollution or they can transition the Boardman plant soon. PGE’s own economic analysis says it’s cheaper for ratepayers to shut the plant down in 2014 than to install pollution controls.
Further decisions concerning the future of the Boardman coal-fired power plant will take place later in the year, including proceedings at the Public Utility Commission taking up PGE’s Integrated Resource Plan. The public comment period for the Title V permit renewal has been extended until July 16th.
