About Us: State PIRG Articles
Massachusetts Requires its Power Plants to Reduce Air Pollution (2001)
Power plants are among the nations' largest sources of
health-threatening air pollution. According to a report by Abt
Associates Inc., published in June 2004, called "Power Plant Emissions:
Particulate Matter-Related Health Damages and the Benefits of
Alternative EmissionREduction Scenarios," "Power plants are significant
emitters of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). In many
parts of the country, especially the Midwest, power plants are the
largest contributors." (Page 1). Yet many of the nation's oldest and
dirtiest plants are operating under pollution limits set when Jimmy
Carter was President. The reason is a notorious loophole in the Clean
Air Act.
MASSPIRG worked to close this loophole at the state level by
petitioning the state in 1998 to adopt regulations requiring the
state's power plants to meet tough new emissions limits. The petition
led to a commitment from Gov. Paul Cellucci to clean up the plants. For
the next two years, MASSPIRG pressed Cellucci to make good on his
promise, testifying at hearings, negotiating with power plant owners,
and releasing reports on the impact of power plant pollution on public
health. In April 2001, Cellucci's successor, Gov. Jane Swift, finalized
regulations that included unprecedented state-imposed limits on power
plant emissions of mercury and carbon dioxide.
