TVA fighting strict air pollution laws

TVA fighting strict air pollution laws
By JASON STRAIT
The Associated Press
CHATTANOOGA — A coalition of utilities that includes the Tennessee Valley Authority has hired former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour to help fight tougher air pollution requirements on power plants.

The coalition banded together in late May to force changes in a Clinton administration ruling on environmental policy called "New Source Review." The policy requires utilities such as TVA to upgrade pollution control equipment each time an aging power plant is renovated.

The consortium of about a dozen power companies called the National Electric Reliability Coordinating Council includes TVA, Atlanta-based Southern Company and Duke Energy of Charlotte, N.C.

"What brings these companies together is to restore (the policy) to its original legislative purpose," said coalition spokesman Scott Segal.

TVA's participation in the coalition has drawn attacks from environmentalists in the region.

Two years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that TVA and several other utilities had made substantial improvements to their power plants without obtaining permits and installing state-of-the-art pollution control equipment.

The EPA said TVA's old coal-fired plants, many built in the 1950s, should meet new plant standards for pollution.

TVA, the country's largest public power producer, said it did not have to meet the policy's strict requirements because the work it performed on the old plants was part of routine maintenance.

The dispute is now in litigation and could soon fall under review by the Justice Department. In his energy plan released last month, President Bush ordered the department to review the EPA ruling.

Meanwhile, TVA has agreed to pay $45,000 to the council through the end of June and $15,000 per month after that until it decides to pull out of the consortium.

According to Segal, Barbour was hired as a lobbyist by the council to "describe in detail to any interested audience the relationship between appropriate (policy) reform and energy efficient gains."

Barbour is a prominent Washington lobbyist whose clients include Philip Morris, Microsoft and BellSouth. He also was named chief fund-raiser for Senate Republicans last week.

Though Barbour will be lobbying on behalf of the council, Segal said TVA signed a contract stating that none of the utility's money would be used for lobbying.

Instead, TVA funds will be used to conduct technical studies that will look at whether the Clinton administration's proposals to reduce air pollution are excessive and unwarranted and could force some power plants to stop operating.

Steve Smith, executive director of environmental watchdog Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said despite TVA efforts to distance itself from Barbour, the utility still was linked to the powerful lobbyist through its involvement with the council. He said TVA is attempting to undermine the Clean Air Act by hiring a "fat cat D.C. lobbyist."

Prior to the EPA ruling, power plants built before the 1977 Clean Air Act were not subject to the current standards.

"Our hometown utility has jumped in there to use rate payer money to buy influence to weaken the Clean Air Act. We find that highly offensive," Smith said.

TVA contends it has complied with the Clean Air Act while spending more than $2.6 billion to reduce pollutants from its plants, including a voluntary plan two years ago to spend more than $600 million on emission reductions.

"We are committed to cleaner air and have made a huge investment in new technology," said TVA board member Glenn McCullough Jr.

TVA is the country's largest public power producer, serving nearly 8 million people through 159 municipal distributors and electric cooperatives in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina.