Three utilities settled a dispute under the Clean Water Act in which environmental groups alleged that the cooling water system violated the Act. We Energies, Madison Gas & Electric, and Wisconsin Public Power jointly own a coal-fired power plant in Wisconsin and withdraw water and discharge it back into Lake Michigan. Payments of $4 million per year from 2010 to 2025 will be directed at projects to water quality issues in Lake Michigan and $5 million total will be paid for projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, by the end of 2012, the utilities will be required to retire two less efficient coal-fired plants in Wisconsin. By the start of 2015, they must construct solar facilities to produce power or purchase power produced from solar facilities of 15 megawatts. Finally,they must support state legislation to establish a renewable portfolio standard of 10 percent by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025.
What is so fascinating about this case is that, despite the fact that it involved a Clean Water Act dispute, the environmental groups, Clean Wisconsin and the Sierra Club, were able to negotiate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The closing of two coal-fired power plants, the purchase of solar power, and agreement to support a state renewable energy standard were significant concessions. The fact that the environmentalist focused on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions reveal that state and national environmental groups are focused on climate change in all of their legal challenges, even those that have little to do with air emissions. It is yet another demonstration of the fights that environmental groups are mounting against coal-fired power plants.
