TVA vows to pollute less

TVA
vows to
pollute
less

By Duncan Mansfield
The Associated Press

KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee Valley Authority pledged Thursday to cut smog and ozone-causing emissions from its coal-fired generating plants — some of the worst polluters in the country — by 75 percent by 2003.

The effect on Tennessee air quality could be dramatic — a reduction of as much as 20 percent in nitrogen oxide emissions statewide.

TVA is budgeting $500 million to $600 million for the undertaking, aimed at helping the region and localities meet tough new standards for nitrogen oxide emissions.

Five of TVA's 11 fossil plants are slated to receive state-of-the-art selective catalytic reduction systems, which will convert the pollutants into harmless nitrogen and water.

Those plants are Allen in Memphis; Cumberland near Nashville; Bull Run in Oak Ridge; Paradise in Central City, Ky., and Widows Creek in Stevenson, Ala.

Cumberland and Paradise were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, among the "dirtiest 100 plants" in the nation for nitrogen oxide emissions in a recent study by the Washington-based consumer organization, U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

In addition, TVA has installed low nitrogen-oxide burners at 34 of its 59 boilers and is studying further measures, such as converting some boilers to natural gas.

Environmentalists and state officials praised the action.

"Without these reductions, Tennessee certainly would not meet the new standards . . . and it would be difficult for our neighboring states to meet the current ones," said Justin Wilson, Gov. Don Sundquist's top environmental policy adviser.

It's more than a bureaucratic exercise, he added.

"The standards are designed to protect human health," Wilson said. "That is the bottom line. What TVA is doing is protecting human health."

The TVA initiative carries weight beyond the seven-state Tennessee Valley, said Stephen Smith with the Tennessee Clean Air Task Force, a coalition of environmental activists.

"This isn't a small step," he said. "There isn't a utility in the country right now that has made these kinds of commitments."

Indeed, Smith said, some are fighting the tougher standards as either unattainable or too expensive.

"This new strategy reinforces the TVA board's commitment to making TVA a leader in environmental stewardship," TVA Chief Operating Officer Ike Zeringue said.

"As we operate our plants we are aware of the need to protect the environment, while at the same time provide our customers a necessary commodity — electricity."

forms ozone or smog, which at
high concentrations can adversely
affect trees, agricultural crops and
human health.

TVA is expected to install the
equipment by 2003 at the follow-
ing plants: Allen in Memphis,
Cumberland northwest of Nash-
ville, Bull Run near Oak Ridge,
Paradise in Central City, Ky, and
Widows Creek in Stevenson, Ala.

"It's significant because this is
a key component in having Ten-
nessee meet stricter ozone stan-
dards," said Justin Wilson, deputy
to the governor. "TVA did this
voluntarily and responsibly."

In earlier efforts to comply
with environmental standards,
TVA installed equipment and
used other technology to reduce
nitrogen oxide by about 40 per
cent by 2000.

It has also spent more than $2
billion on equipment to reduce
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
at its coal-fired plants, TVA said.

TVA to further reduce emissions at its coal-fired plants

By Jacques Billeaud
News-Sentinel staff writer

TVA plans to install equipment at
five of its coal-fired power plants to
reduce pollutants that cause ozone
and smog.

The initiative, expected to cost $500
million to $600 million, will include a
75 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide
emissions by 2003.

It's also aimed at avoiding viola-
tions of a stringent ozone standard
called for last year by the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, TVA Chief
Operating Officer Ike Zerngue said
Thursday.

Gov. Don Sundquist and a clean-air
group commended TVA for its plans.

"This is one of their biggest ever
highlights TVA's role as a
leader," Smith added. "I think this
signals a new commitment on TVA's
part to improve the environment."

Stephen Smith, a frequent TVA critic
who heads the Tennessee Valley En-
ergy Reform Coalition,

Smith is also involved in the Ten-
nessee Clean Air Task Force, a group
of organizations that applauded
Thursday's announcement.

The equipment removes nitrogen
oxide from fossil-plant emissions and
converts it to harmless nitrogen and
water, TVA said.

Nitrogen oxide is a pollutant that