Washington County, Pennsylvania, Proposed Gas-Fired Power Plant: Clean Air Council Administrative Appeal of Air Permit

The Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project (collectively “EIP”) filed a July 14th Notice of Appeal (“Appeal”) of an air permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to Robinson Power Company, LLC.

EIP seeks review of the issuance of Plan Approval No. 63-00922D to a proposed gas-fired power plant.

The gas-fired power plant would be located in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The Appeal list of objections includes:

• Erroneous ammonia emissions limit
• Erroneous combustion turbine and facility-wide emissions limits for carbon monoxide, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds
• Failure to verify information used in conducting BACT and LAER analyses
• Operational requirements insufficient to make the combustion turbine emissions limits specified in the Plan Approval practicably enforceable
• Failure to contain provisions sufficient to ensure proper operation of the oxidation catalysts
• Insufficient information to confirm the operation of the oxidation catalysts will achieve BACT standards
• Failure to conduct a proper analysis of projected air quality impacts as a result of:
  • growth associated with the facility
  • secondary emissions that would ensue
  • other additional impacts
• Use of inappropriate and unsubstantiated assumptions and failure to properly conduct significant impact level analysis
• Violation of environmental rights of EIP and other members of the public, as established in Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, by issuing the Plan Approval despite pollution through construction and operation of the facility in an area already heavily burdened by poor air quality
• Violation of trustee duties as established in Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution by permitting degradation of the natural environment
• Plan Approval unsupported by fact, contrary to law, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and/or an abuse of discretion

A copy of the Appeal can be downloaded here.