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Duke Energy to Spend Approximately $93 Million to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations
December 22, 2009Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power companies in the nation, will spend approximately $85 million to significantly reduce harmful air pollution at an Indiana power plant and pay a $1.75 million civil penalty, under a settlement to resolve violations of federal clean air laws, the Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The settlement also requires Duke to spend $6.25 million on environmental mitigation projects. The agreement, filed in federal court in Indianapolis, resolves violations of the Clean Air Act's new source review requirements found at the company's Gallagher coal-fired power plant in New Albany, Ind., located directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Ky. The settlement is anticipated to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions at the Gallagher plant by almost 35,000 tons per year, an 86 percent reduction when compared to 2008 emissions. This is equivalent to the emissions from 500,000 heavy duty semi trucks, which is more than all the trucks registered in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio combined. Sulfur Dioxide harms the environment and human health. Full release.