{"id":13033,"date":"2012-06-22T11:00:57","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T16:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=13033"},"modified":"2012-06-21T17:34:15","modified_gmt":"2012-06-21T22:34:15","slug":"why-an-environmental-group-is-going-after-austins-coal-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/22\/why-an-environmental-group-is-going-after-austins-coal-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"Why an Environmental Group is Going After Austin’s Coal Plant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Andy Uhler\/KUT News<\/p>

The Fayette Power Project coal plant in La Grange, Texas. An environmental group says it's violating its permit, which the LCRA denies.<\/p><\/div>\n

One environmental group believes that the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)<\/a> needs something more than just a chimney sweep to clean up its act.<\/p>\n

LCRA was served with a notice of intent to sue last week by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP)<\/a>, representing the Texas Campaign for the Environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The environmental group’s notice of intent cites Clean Air Act<\/a> violations at the Fayette Power Project (FPP)<\/a> near La Grange (about 60 miles outside of Austin) as cause for the lawsuit. Specifically, the group claims that the coal plant has exceeded limits on particulate matter emissions.<\/p>\n

“We’ve discovered what we believe are egregious violations of the air pollution permit for the power plant and that harms public health, pollutes the air that we all breath,” said Ilan Levin<\/a>, the Associate Director of Environmental Integrity Project,\u00a0in an interview with StateImpact Texas.<\/p>\n

And like many environmental vs. energy spats in the state, this is another case of He Said, She Said<\/em>. LCRA General Manager Becky Motal<\/a>\u00a0believes the groups claims are groundless.<\/p>\n

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY<\/p>

Becky Motal, General Manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis notice of intent to file yet another lawsuit with similar allegations as in a previous suit is completely unwarranted and harassing,\u201d Motal said in a press release<\/a>\u00a0after they learned of the suit. \u201cFPP [Fayette Power Project] is one of the cleanest and most efficiently operated coal plants in Texas, and I am proud of the conscientious, environmentally responsible work our employees do providing electricity to more than a million people in Central Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2011, LCRA was faced with a similar lawsuit<\/a>. The Environmental Integrity Project, in conjunction with two other anti-pollution groups, brought six claims alleging violations at the plant. Two of those were quickly withdrawn, the LCRA says. And this March, a judge dismissed three other claims, leaving only one in the suit. That claim, related to particulate matter emissions, is now in a Houston federal court in the discovery phase. The LCRA says that claim “involves unfounded allegations”\u00a0and the costs of the suit “will eventually be passed on to ratepayers.”<\/p>\n

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