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As a hearing before the Environmental Appeals Board nears for NRG Energy, owner of the Indian River power plant outside Millsboro, company officials have made a deal with state environmental officials to extend the timeline for emissions reductions.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) initiated emissions regulations requiring power plants in the state to clean up mercury, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions by 2009, with additional cleanup to be complete by 2012.
NRG officials filed a lawsuit stating the company could not meet the 2009 deadline because designing and engineering the wet scrubbers and emissions-controlling equipment would take too long.
On Monday, Aug. 13, DNREC Secretary John Hughes announced the two sides had reached an agreement on emissions controls. NRG will be allowed to have an extended timeline, past 2009, in exchange for more stringent pollution reductions in the future.
“We’re moving forward with DNREC to hammer out a final agreement,” said Lori Neuman, spokeswoman for NRG. “We will release more details as soon as the agreement is finished.”
NRG was scheduled to appear before the Environmental Appeals Board on Monday, Aug. 27, and Tuesday, Aug. 28, to appeal the regulations. Conectiv Energy, which owns a plant on Hay Road near Wilmington, also appealed the regulations although the company announced it could meet DNREC’s timeline. That appeal will still be heard by the Environmental Appeals Board.
“On Wednesday, [Aug. 15] we filed a joint motion with DNREC to dismiss the appeal,” said Neuman. “This will allow us to transfer jurisdiction to Superior Court.”
The emissions agreement maintains that NRG will meet caps on mercury emissions by 2009 and reduce nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide in higher amounts than required by the regulation, which was signed by Hughes in 2006.
However, no other details of the agreement have been released by DNREC because officials are still in the process of ironing them out, said Hughes.
“We think this is a good resolution,” said Ali Mirzakhalili, air quality administrator for DNREC.
Environmental groups are concerned that this deal could have a snowball effect, leading to other deals that only delay pollution regulations, harm the environment and have a negative effect on public health.
Contact Rachel Swick at: rswick@capegazette.com
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