Dear 'Links,

Our law suit against Dominion has been settled! We have a legally enforceable commitment that no coal will be burned on the property after June 20114. This becomes even more relevant as Dominion is close to selling the plant to a company which plans to build a gas-fired generator on the site. Read the article below. There will be one in the Globe tomorrow. 

We are in conversation with the potential buyer and will be presenting them with some real concerns about their proposal for a new gas-generating plant on the site. How big will it be? What will be its impact? How long will it run? Those and other questions will help us shape our reaction. 

Press Release - February 7, 2012 

HealthLink, CLF Settle Clean Air Act Citizen Suit with Dominion  

After years of citizen activism and legal intervention, HealthLink and the Conservation Law Foundation announced they have secured an enforceable commitment from Dominion Energy, Inc., the Salem Power Plant owner, to shut down all four units at the 60-year-old coal-fired power plant by 2014.

The power plant stacks pale in comparison to the sooty plume traveling for miles.

"Many community members were concerned the previously announced shut down dates would not be honored," explained Martha Dansdill, Executive Director of HealthLink, a North Shore environmental organization. "We are very pleased this is now legally enforceable."

In addition, the settlement ensures that coal cannot be used at the site afterwards by any owner of the plant. It also requires Dominion Energy to spend $275,000 on projects that reduce air pollution in the nearby communities impacted by the coal and oil-fired power plant's emissions. Further fines will be added to the fund for compensatory projects in the case of further violations.

"It was the dark plumes emitted from the stacks that hung over the region that prompted us to start the lawsuit back in June of 2010," said Dansdill. "With the help of concerned citizens who photographed these toxic smudges in the sky, we were able to show the violations of the opacity standards for air emissions set by the Clean Air Act. After extensive research by CLF, it was determined that Dominion reported to the state they exceeded opacity limits over 300 times in 5 years and we commenced the law suit."

"It turns out that while Dominion was telling the public they were in compliance with all of the regulations, they were reporting their own violations to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection," commented Jane Bright, spokesman for HealthLink.

"This settlement will bring significant benefits to the surrounding communities by reducing air pollution and ensuring that coal is never burned at this site again," said Shanna Cleveland, staff attorney at CLF. 

Added Bright, "The shutdown of this public health hazard is a tribute to the community's work for air that is safe to breathe and energy that does not defile our world and bodies." She added, "We believe that Salem is part of a trend toward domestically produced clean energy and we are proud to be part of this much needed progress. Now we need to figure out if the proposed gas plant represents such progress."

Added HealthLink member Lynn Nadeau of Marblehead, "It does seem a shame that government agencies lack a budget to be able to properly police and ensure compliance with environmental regulations but this is where citizens in groups like HealthLink and Conservation Law Foundation can be useful."  

Salem News February 7, 2012

Court settlement with power plant ends city's coal era 

Boston Globe Online - February 7, 2012 

Court settlement mandates that Salem power plant stop burning coal by 2014