The complaint also alleges that for over a decade, the Big Cajun 2 power plant has operated without the best available emissions-control technology required by the New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act to control emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, contributing to formation of fine particulate matter, smog and acid rain.
The lawsuit asks the court to order Louisiana Generating to install and operate appropriate air pollution control technology in order to substantially reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from the Big Cajun 2 Power Plant. The United States also seeks civil penalties up to the maximum amount authorized by law, as well as actions by the energy provider to mitigate the adverse effects alleged to have been caused by the violations.
Coal-fired power plants collectively produce more pollution than any other industry in the United States. They account for nearly 70% of sulfur dioxide emissions each year and 20% of nitrogen oxides emissions. Emissions from coal-fired power plants have detrimental health effects on asthma sufferers, the elderly and children. Additionally, these emissions have been linked to forest degradation, waterway damage, reservoir contamination and deterioration of stone and copper in buildings.
To combat these adverse effects, the EPA and the Justice Department are pursuing a national initiative, targeting electric utilities whose coal-fired power plants violate the law. The suit was filed in the US District Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
