Alexandria will challenge an agreement reached by Mirant Corp., the federal government, Maryland and Virginia that would allow the company’s Alexandria power plant to dump nearly 600 more tons of nitrous oxide emissions into the air each summer.
“We think that the long-term regional benefits of the settlement decree are illusory and that the decree as drafted will perpetuate local harm here and in Virginia,” said Alexandria City Attorney Ignacio Pessoa.
The city has 30 days to file a legal challenge.
Under the consent agreement announced earlier this week, Mirant will spend more than $130 million on new emission controls at its three Maryland plants, in Prince George’s, Charles and Montgomery counties.
While overall emissions from all four plants would be reduced by 29,000 tons in the region over the next several years, the Alexandria plant could release 1,600 tons of emissions each summer, as opposed to the 1,019 tons it is permitted to release now.
The agreement, which must be approved by the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, stems from Mirant exceeding emissions limits in Alexandria in 2003.
Bill Hayden, a spokesman for the Virginia Environmental Quality Department, said Virginia approved the agreement because of its long-term benefits to the capital region.
“Air quality doesn’t just sit in one particular spot. It really moves from area to area,” he said. “We want to find a way to reduce in the whole metro D.C. region.”
Cale Jaffe, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the agreement should require that the plant emit no more than the 1,019 tons allowed by its permit.
Mirant did not return calls for comment.
Emissions
» Mirant in 2003 emitted more than double the 1,019 tons allowed by the Virginia permit.
» Permissible emissions at the Alexandria plant will decrease to 1,475 tons in 2010 under the agreement.
