Judge: UW coal plant is illegal

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

From a story by Ron Seely in the Wisconsin State Journal:

The state is in violation of federal clean air laws for failing to install modern pollution controls on the coal-burning Charter Street power plant on the UW-Madison campus, U.S. District Court Judge John Shabaz ruled Wednesday in Madison.

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed in May by the Sierra Club against UW-Madison and the state Department of Administration in which the environmental organization accused the state of violating clean air laws by not installing pollution controls after several major construction projects at the facility between 1999 and 2004.

In his ruling, Shabaz said the changes at the plant were so substantial that the university will have to apply for a new operating permit from the state Department of Natural Resources and install modern pollution control equipment, which could cost millions of dollars.

Pollutants generated by the burning coal that heats the plant's boilers include nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. Both contribute to ozone pollution, which can worsen respiratory illnesses.

0 comments: