Environmental groups say they will sue LCRA over Fayette power plant
River authority says its coal-fired plant is among cleanest.
Austin American Statesman
July 16, 2010
In an early sign of how federal disapproval of a state air pollution program will filter down to Central Texas, three environmental groups said Thursday that they would sue the Lower Colorado River Authority over its operations of a coal-fired power plant near La Grange.
The environmental groups say the Fayette Power Project failed to upgrade its pollution controls as it ramped up its capacity, dodging federal regulations.
The nonprofit river authority, which owns the plant jointly with the City of Austin and supplies wholesale power to cities and electric cooperatives, said the groups' claims are based on faulty methodology and faulty conclusions.
The environmental groups were emboldened to threaten suit by the decision at the end of June to disapprove the state's flexible permitting program, which sets overall emission caps for facilities, rather than particular limits on emissions from a single boiler. Fayette operates under such a permit, and federal regulators have said the program is too lax.
Read more:http://www.statesman.com/news/local/environmental-groups-say-they-will-sue-lcra-over-805610.html
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