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The agreement with Midwest Generation ensures that the company will
install modern pollution control equipment at all its Illinois power
plants or shut down any power generating units where it does not
install pollution controls. The Illinois EPA reached this and the
other multi-pollutant agreements after Blagojevich proposed an
aggressive mercury pollution reduction plan in January 2006 to cut
mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants.
The governor's mercury rule will reduce toxic mercury emissions
from power plants far faster and deeper than federal restrictions
and will achieve the largest overall amount of mercury reduction of
any state in the country. The Illinois Pollution Control Board
adopted the mercury rule in November, and the legislative Joint
Committee on Administrative Rules voted Tuesday to approve the rule.
"These agreements mean cleaner air and cleaner water, and that
means fewer health problems for children, for pregnant women and for
people all across Illinois," Blagojevich said. "It took a lot of
work to get to this point, but thanks to the environmental
community, the power companies and the work of people like our EPA
director, Doug Scott, we've achieved something no other state has
done. And the result means a cleaner, healthier state."
Under the plan, Midwest Generation will:
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Reduce toxic
mercury emissions by an estimated 84 percent by 2009, 90 percent
by 2013 and 95 percent by 2018, based on IEPA estimates, by
installing mercury control equipment by July of 2009 at 16 of
its 19 power generating units at its six power plants. The
remaining three units will be shut down by Dec. 31, 2010.
Mercury controls will be installed on plants in the cities of
Chicago and Waukegan by July of 2008, 18 months ahead of federal
regulations and a year ahead of Blagojevich's stringent mercury
plan.
-
Reduce nitrogen
oxide emissions by an estimated 68 percent by Jan. 1, 2012, and
sulfur dioxide emissions by an estimated 80 percent by Jan. 1,
2019.
-
Close two power
generating units at the Will County Station in Romeoville and
one unit at its Waukegan Station between the end of 2007 and the
end of 2010.
-
Install pollution
control equipment by the end of 2018 to reduce nitrogen oxide
and sulfur dioxide emissions on every power generating unit that
remains in operation.
-
Close or install
additional pollution control equipment for sulfur dioxide
emissions at the single-unit Fisk Generation Station in Chicago
by the end of 2015.
-
Close or install
additional pollution control equipment at the Waukegan Station
by the end of 2014 and close or install additional pollution
controls to the Crawford Station in Chicago by the end of 2018.
-
Agree not to
purchase emissions credits needed for compliance with sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides standards from outside of Illinois
or from other companies in Illinois, which means that reductions
in emissions are the result of actual pollution reductions in
Illinois and not credits purchased from other states.
Under the agreement, Midwest Generation's parent company, Edison
Mission Group, has also agreed to explore developing new wind power
projects and to explore building new "clean coal" power generation
plants. Such low-emissions power plants would gasify Illinois coal
to produce electricity and allow for the capture and storage of
carbon dioxide emissions, the primary greenhouse gas contributing to
global climate change. Such investments in zero-emissions renewable
energy and clean-coal technology will further improve air quality
while reducing dependence on imported energy sources.
"This agreement provides long-term certainty for both the state
and our company, helps the state and city of Chicago achieve their
clean-air goals, and allows us to plan and manage significant
capital investments and major technology projects in a reasonable
time frame," said Ted Craver, chief executive officer of Edison
Mission Group. "We have a strong interest in working with the
governor to grow our business in clean coal and renewable energy
generation in Illinois," he added.
"This powerful
multi-pollutant agreement between Governor Blagojevich and Midwest
Generation is an extraordinary environmental milestone for
Illinois," said Doug Scott, director of the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency. "Combined with reducing mercury and cutting
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, Midwest Generation's
commitment to explore developing renewable energy and clean-coal
projects can offset even more air pollution from their power
plants."
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 "I commend the decision by Midwest Generation to commit to
closing or cleaning up their two facilities in Chicago and to
reducing mercury emissions from their coal-fired power plants,
including the plants located in Chicago," said Chicago Mayor Richard
M. Daley. "Air pollution can have a harmful impact on our
residents, our environment and our economy, and we need to do all we
can to minimize it. Governor Blagojevich's continued leadership on
this issue will benefit air quality and improve the quality of life
for residents in the entire Chicagoland area."
"The mercury pollution reduction settlement will lead to cleaner
air and better protection for children's health and our
environment," said Howard A. Learner, executive director of the
Environmental Law and Policy Center. "Illinois is now a national
leader in stepping up to reduce mercury pollution from coal plants
by about 90 percent by 2009. Combined with measures under way in
other Midwest states, Illinois actions will go far towards reducing
mercury in the Great Lakes and our inland lakes and rivers."
"There is now consensus that we can and must eliminate the menace
of toxic mercury pollution in Illinois," said Rebecca Stanfield,
state director of Environment Illinois. "The argument that it is
impossible or too expensive to protect our children's health has
been thoroughly discredited, and, together, we've created a good
model for other states. At the same time, this agreement is an
important milestone for ensuring clean-air progress in Illinois. In
January, Governor Blagojevich and the Illinois EPA made a promise,
and today, they have admirably delivered on that promise. We're
happy to extend our thanks and congratulations."
Under these agreements between the Illinois EPA and Midwest
Generation, Ameren and Dynegy, reduction of mercury, sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen oxide emissions will far exceed those required under
the federal Clean Air Mercury Rule and the Clean Air Interstate
Rule, demonstrating that greater protections to public health and
the environment are both achievable and cost-effective. Under the
Clean Air Mercury Rule, power producers in Illinois would have been
required to reduce their mercury emissions by only 78 percent by
2018, not the 90 percent reduction by 2009 required by the Illinois
rule. And, under the Clean Air Interstate Rule, power producers
would have been required to reduce their sulfur dioxide emissions by
only 34 percent, not the estimated reductions of 76 percent by
Ameren, 65 percent by Dynegy and 80 percent by Midwest Generation
that are required under agreements with each company under the
Illinois rule.
These reductions are critically important because mercury is a
harmful toxin that can cause serious health problems to the human
nervous system. Mercury becomes toxic when it enters surface water
from the atmosphere through rain and snow, and people can become
exposed by eating fish from contaminated lakes and waterways.
Mercury exposure can harm developing fetuses and can cause mental
retardation, cerebral palsy, lower IQs, slow motor functions,
deafness, blindness and other health problems. Recent studies
indicate that as many as 10 percent of babies born each year in the
United States are exposed to excessive mercury levels in the womb.
In the United States, an estimated 43 percent of mercury
emissions come from power plants, making them the largest man-made
source of mercury emissions. The Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency estimates that the state's coal-fired power plants emit more
than 3.5 tons of mercury into the air every year.
Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides contribute to fine particles
of air pollution, and nitrogen oxides chemically contribute to
ground-level ozone that can lead to respiratory illness,
particularly in children and the elderly, and aggravate heart and
lung diseases. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can also
contribute to acid rain, reduced visibility and damage to sensitive
ecosystems.
As part of the overall effort to establish Illinois as the
nation's clean-air leader, this summer the governor proposed the
nation's most innovative and aggressive energy independence plan,
which includes additional strategies to reduce carbon emissions by
boosting investments in energy-efficient technologies, renewable
power generation and homegrown fuels made from Illinois coal, corn
and soybeans. The plan also includes a proposed pipeline to help
capture carbon dioxide emissions from new coal gasification plants.
In July, the governor announced that the state would begin powering
141 Springfield-based facilities under his control with clean,
renewable wind energy purchased from the Springfield's municipal
utility company, City Water Light and Power.
[News release from the governor's office] |
