Environmental and clean water advocates are raising concerns after the Environmental Protection Agency announced late on Christmas Eve it would delay tougher wastewater treatment standards for coal-fired power plants, including the J.H. Campbell plant in western Michigan.
The EPA estimates the stricter standards would cut wastewater pollution by more than 600 million pounds a year, reductions environmental groups said are now being delayed.
Thom Cmar, deputy managing attorney for the Midwest Regional Office of the environmental law organization Earthjustice, said for decades, coal-fired power plants have been among the largest sources of toxic pollution in waterways, including arsenic, mercury and lead.
"These are standards that EPA is supposed to require power plants to use state-of-the-art technology to clean up the pollution or eliminate it altogether," Cmar explained.
The EPA said the delay is intended to address concerns about electric grid reliability, rising electricity demand and electricity affordability for consumers.
Environmental groups said they are reviewing the rule and plan to pursue legal challenges.
In West Michigan, the delay is drawing renewed attention to the J.H. Campbell coal plant, where federal actions could affect how long the facility continues operating.
Cmar says the Campbell plant is a notable example because its owner, Consumers Energy, has said it plans to retire the facility.
"They recognize that this is a dirty old plant that is obsolete and that there are better ways for them to be spending their money than prolonging the life of an expensive dirty plant like this," Cmar asserted. "But the administration is ordering them to continue operating."
As federal officials maintain the delay is meant to help keep electricity reliable and affordable, critics argued the EPA has not shown extending the operation of older coal plants will lower electric bills for ratepayers.
Consumer's Energy is among Michigan Public's corporate sponsors.
