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PR SECOND LARGEST SETTLEMENT UNDER CAA WILL PROTECT CO. ENV.

Release Date: 5/22/96
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PR SECOND LARGEST SETTLEMENT UNDER CAA WILL PROTECT CO. ENV.

FOR RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 1996

SECOND LARGEST SETTLEMENT EVER UNDER CLEAN AIR ACT WILL

PROTECT COLORADO ENVIRONMENT

U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol M. Browner announced today a $140 million pollution control settlement--the second largest ever under the Clean Air Act-- with the Colorado Public Service Co. (PSC) and its partners that will dramatically reduce air pollution and protect public health.
Additionally, the settlement will improve the quality of lakes and streams, and increase visibility in northwestern Colorado's scenic and environmentally sensitive Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area.

"Today's agreement will restore the people's right to enjoy the natural beauty of their state, and to live safely," said the Attorney General. "This penalty demonstrates that we are serious about cracking down on environmental violators."

"The Clinton Administration is sending a strong message -- polluters will be held responsible for any harm they cause to public health and the environment," Browner said. "This settlement will reduce air pollution by more than 20,000 tons per year, bringing clearer skies, cleaner lakes and streams, and better health to the people of Colorado."

The consent decree, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in U.S. District Court in Denver, resolves allegations made by the federal government, the state of Colorado, and the Sierra Club, that PSC's Hayden power station violated Clean Air Act pollution limits, obscured visibility, and increased acid levels in snow in the wilderness area, situated 19 miles downwind from the facility.

Under the terms of a consent decree, PSC will spend $140 million -- the second largest expenditure in the history of the Clean Air Act -- to install "state of the art" pollution controls to reduce particulate, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions at the Hayden facility, which is located in the Yampa Valley west of Steamboat Springs. In addition, PSC, the Salt River Project, and Pacificorp will pay a $2 million civil penalty. The three utilities also will contribute another $2.25 million for a Land Trust Fund which will be used to purchase additional land in the Yampa Valley, to prevent development in sensitive areas, and for other environmental projects.

Particulate matter, SO2, and NOx all impair visibility in the wilderness area. In addition, S02 and NOx emissions can cause severe environmental damage to the fragile Mt. Zirkel ecosystem. For example, they have caused the highest acid levels in snow packs ever found west of the Mississippi. When the snow melts in early spring, it can result in an "acid pulse" into rivers and lakes which can kill fish and flora in the wilderness area.

The Hayden power plant currently has no emission controls for SO2 or NOx and ineffective controls for 

small particulate pollution. The settlement requires PSC to install controls for all three pollutants by the year 1999, at least five years sooner than it would otherwise have had to under current law. The government estimates future annual emissions from the facility will drop from 16,000 tons to 2,400 tons for SO2 (85 percent) and 14,000 tons to 7,000 tons for NOx (50 percent).

The complaint charged PSC with thousands of violations including opacity, the visible air pollution emissions from a facility's smokestacks. In 1995, the District Court ruled in favor of the Sierra Club that PSC was liable for the Clean Air Act violations. The required new controls will remove over 99 percent of the particulate emissions at the plant, which, combined with the SO2 reductions, will greatly improve visibility of the spectacular vistas in the Mt. Zirkel wilderness area. In addition, the settlement will reduce particulate matter pollution in Steamboat Springs, an area with already unhealthy levels of such pollution, by funding a special project to convert woodstoves and gas or diesel powered vehicles to natural gas. Concentrations of particulate matter can cause cardio-pulmonary damage, especially to the very young, the very old, and people with existing respiratory problems.

The consent decree settles a lawsuit against PSC which was originally brought by the Sierra Club in 1993. The federal government and the state of Colorado intervened in the lawsuit following a notice of violation by EPA in January 1996.

(A fact sheet on the background and settlement provisions of the case is attached.)

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