Environmentalists burning up over Crist plant emissions plan

GULF POWER AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Environmentalists burning up over Crist plant emissions plan

Larry Wheeler
News Journal Washington bureau

WASHINGTON — Gulf Power Co. has revised plans to add pollution controls at its Crist power plant, angering environmentalists who say the company is backing away from its vow to help improve local air quality.

Company officials respond that Gulf Power still is pressing ahead with plans to cut down on pollution from Crist.

At issue are plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, which contributes to the formation of particulate matter, or soot, which has been linked to respiratory ailments and other health problems.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group on Thursday released a report that it says proves the coal-fired plant northeast of Pensacola is one of the nation's 20 worst for increased sulfur dioxide emissions.

Gulf Power announced in October that it wanted to add $162 million in pollution-abatement technology to reduce sulfur dioxide and other emissions. But the company has decided not to add "scrubber" technology that would reduce sulfur dioxide releases from the coal-fired plant's two 450-foot smokestacks.

Instead, the company plans to focus on reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides — the primary man-made component of ground-level ozone.

The reason: The Escambia/Santa Rosa County area has the worst ozone problem in the state and is not projected to meet tough new federal ozone standards that will be implemented in the next few years.

That's not good enough for Jim Presswood, a staff attorney for the Pensacola office of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

"To me, it looks like Gulf Power reneged on a commitment to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions," he said.

Gulf Power spokesman John Hutchinson disputes that interpretation.

"We did not commit to anything at any point in time," he said.

Sulfur dioxide emissions from the Crist plant could be addressed in the future, he said.

Overall, emissions from Gulf Power Co.'s coal-fired Crist power plant have trended downward since 1992, according to the company. Nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter are the components regulated by federal and state governments.

Evolution of emissions

Source: Gulf Power Co.
in tons

Gulf Power's Crist plant shifts focus to local ozone woes

The back and forth between environmentalists and power company officials is nothing new, but it appears to be reaching new heights as both sides jostle over the Bush administration's evolving approach to clean air regulations and policies.

The debate also is intensified by a federal court's decision last month that clears the way for the federal Environmental Protection Agency to implement the tougher ozone standards.

The Public Interest Research Group report is the latest development in the ongoing war of words.

But it omits some pertinent facts. Specifically, it ignores that the Crist plant has reduced overall sulfur dioxide emissions since 1993 when it switched to burning ur coal.

The report compares sulfur dioxide emissions in 1995 and 2000, and notes a 51 percent increase during that period. However, it does not mention that sulfur dioxide emissions at the plant declined between 2000 and 2001.

"They are playing with the numbers," Hutchinson said. "They ought to look at the whole program, not pick years when there was a hot summer and higher burn."

The Crist plant is a major contributor to the area's ozone problem.

The plant is responsible for about 35 percent of the region's ozone problem, and the company wants to do what it can to help the community comply with the new federal standards, Hutchinson said.

Ozone pollution, or smog, is a health concern. At high enough concentrations, it can trigger asthma attacks and inflame the lungs of those who suffer from bronchitis, emphysema and other respiratory illnesses.

If the Escambia/Santa Rosa area cannot meet the new standards, local leaders will have three years to develop a plan outlining precisely how ozone levels will be lowered. Automobile emissions tests, cleaner-burning gasoline, emissions caps for business and industry, as well as the loss of tens of millions of dollars in federal highway money are possible.

For that reason, Gulf Power is focusing on reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides.

The company plans to install technology called "selective catalytic reduction," a process that chemically alters plant emissions. It works by injecting ammonia into exhaust gases before they leave the plant's smokestacks, reducing nitrogen oxides to harmless nitrogen gas and water vapor.

Gulf Power has estimated it would cost $105 million to install that technology.

The company is not required to add any of the new equipment.

Crist is one of dozens of coal-fired power plants exempted from modern pollution control standards amended into the Clean Air Act in 1977.

Presswood says the Crist plant needs to be brought up to emissions standards required of newly built coal-burning power plants or those fitted with state-of-the art pollution control devices.

Power plants held to stricter standards pollute far less than older facilities exempt from the standards.

An example: Stanton Energy, a coal-fired plant in Orlando whose two generating units were built in 1987 and 1996.

The Crist plant emitted nearly six times the amount of sulfur dioxide and more than twice the amount of nitrogen oxides than the Stanton Energy plant in 1999, while producing less electricity, according to federal statistics.

"Gulf Power and its parent Southern Co. need to clean up their act," Presswood said. "They need to stop fighting the Clean Air Act and join with us to look at proactive solutions."

Gulf Power officials insist the company is not the bad neighbor some make it out to be.

"It's easy to point a finger at a big company and say 'they are the problem,'" Hutchinson said.

"'They are playing with the numbers. They ought to look at the whole program, not pick years when there was a hot summer and higher burn.'"
– Gulf Power spokesman John Hutchinson, addressing the Public Interest Research Group's report on sulfur dioxide emissions

News Journal staff writer Scott Streater contributed to this report.