Northwest Indiana Discussion

Report: State Line pollution costs public $77M annually

By GITTE LAASBY (219) 648-2183 glaasby@post-trib.com

HAMMOND — Air pollution from the State Line Energy power plant in Hammond costs residents in Northwest Indiana and the greater Chicago area $77 million in health and environmental damages every year, according to a new report released today.

According to the report, most of the damage comes from the pollutant that gives off a "rotten egg" smell — sulfur dioxide. It can trigger asthma attacks and, in combination with soot particles and other air pollutants, cause premature death for people with heart and lung disease.

State Line uses low-sulfur coal. But unlike new coal-fired plants, it doesn't have pollution control equipment called scrubbers to remove sulfur, said Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago, which issued the report. So the pollution goes up the smoke stack and into the air.

"They're trying to run the plant in effect like an old Chevy clunker and that should no longer be permissible," Learner said.

When new rules on sulfur dioxide went into effect in 1977, new plants were required to reduce their air pollution. But old plants like State Line were grandfathered in under the presumption that they'd be phased out soon or would be required to reduce emissions when they underwent major upgrades.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, plant owner Dominion has made enough changes at the plant that it should pollute less, but the company has not invested in the necessary equipment. As a result, residents as far as 200 miles from the plant — in Northwest Indiana and northeast Illinois — are paying the bill in health damages.

"Scrubber costs are probably $125 million to $200 million. That's a cost of compliance. That's what's required for them to do. They need to comply with the law ... They either need to invest the money to clean it up or shut it down," Learner said. "You say, 'That's a lot of money.' But we're finding it's costing the public $77 million a year for the pollution. There's not a free lunch here. What Dominion is doing is taking the cost of the plant and pushing it on the public."

State Line has caused between $540 million and $720 million in total damages since 2002, the report states.

Dan Genest, spokesman for Dominion, said he couldn't comment much because of pending legal action. State Line faces legal action from environmental groups including the ELPC and possibly the EPA for violating the plant's air permit.

"As we do at all of our operations, Dominion strives to ensure that State Line complies fully with all applicable environmental laws and regulations," Genest said in an e-mail. "Because many of the allegations made in this study are the same as ELPC also made in its notice of intent to sue over opacity issues, we cannot comment further."

The "Unpaid Health Bills" report determines the costs of air pollution by combining a health impact study by the EPA with an economic model used by the National Research Council, established to advise the federal government.

"First, they looked at scientific research on what damages are caused by different pollutants — mostly health as well as environmental damage to crops and building materials," Peter Gray of the ELPC said in an e-mail.

"They assign a dollar value to each type of damage — asthma attack, heart attack, hospitalization, premature death, etc. Cost is a combination of things like hospital bills as well as lost productivity.

"They look at the geographic area, where pollution is likely to cause damages and how many people might feel the effects. With that they're able to determine how many asthma attacks, heart attacks, etc., this pollution is likely to cause, and therefore the economic value."

Learner said new rules about interstate pollution could force State Line to clean up its emissions effective in 2012.

"Dominion knows it's at a point where it can run, but it can't hide," he said.

The power plant is located on the Lake Michigan shore in Hammond at the state line.

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Whew they stink and don't even know it!

Time to FORCE them to upgrade once and for all