Delaware wants residents to respond to EPA refusal to stop out-of-state air pollution

After years of pushing for federal action to lower power plant air pollution wafting into Delaware, state officials now want the public to voice their opinions about a Trump administration plan to deny the requests.

In 2016, Delaware and Maryland submitted several Clean Air Act petitions to reduce emissions of nitrogen dioxide from plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently decided neither state “has met their burden to demonstrate that the sources they named emit or would emit ozone forming pollutants at levels that violate the Clean Air Act’s good neighbor provision.”

Delaware cited the Brunner Island power plant near York, Pennsylvania; the Harrison Power Station in Harrison County, West Virginia; the Homer City Power Generation near Pittsburgh; and the Conemaugh Generating Station in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Maryland’s petition was aimed at emissions from 36 electric-generating units in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

State officials previously said computer modeling indicated the Brunner Island plant’s three coal-fired electric generating units, which are not equipped with pollution controls, are contributing to unhealthy ozone concentrations in Delaware.

Nitrogen oxide controls installed at Delaware’s NRG Indian River power plant near Millsboro have reduced annual nitrogen oxide emissions by nearly 80 percent, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Ozone is a chemical created partly by nitrogen oxide that creates smog or haze, especially along high-traffic and populated areas such as the I-95 corridor.

Short-term exposure to high levels of ozone can result in suppressed immune systems and acute respiratory issues, including coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. It's particularly dangerous for those with asthma or other breathing problems.

High ozone levels are especially problematic in the Mid-Atlantic states during summer months as high temperatures make the creation of ozone easier, while high electrical demand also produces greater output of nitrogen oxide.

Despite state pleas to hold a hearing in Delaware rather than D.C., the EPA held a hearing June 22 in Washington to deny Delaware’s Clean Air Act petitions. That hearing was held only 15 days after the EPA said it was going to deny the petitions.

The EPA will accept comments on the proposed denial until July 23, which prompted DNREC to schedule a public meeting for Monday, July 16, to allow residents to voice their opinions on that denial.

The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room A112, Wing A, at Delaware Technical Community College’s Stanton Campus at 400 Stanton Christiana Road in Newark.

“We are holding this meeting to provide an opportunity for the public to comment about the transmission of air pollution from out of state into Delaware,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin in a press release. “The Department has pursued – and will continue to pursue – voluntary and collaborative efforts with partner states to ensure upwind power plants meet the same stringent standards Delaware is required to meet.”

The proposal to deny Delaware and Maryland’s petitions comes as the Trump administration also considers repealing the Clean Power Plan. That Obama-era federal mandate that would force polluters to cut carbon dioxide emissions nationwide by 2030.

"The fundamental mission of the EPA is to protect the health of the American people and our environment," said Sen. Tom Carper in a statement earlier this month. "By denying our state, and others, the ability to reduce harmful pollution from upwind states, this EPA is shirking its primary responsibility, ignoring the needs of states and, most importantly, putting the health of Delawareans at risk."

The most recent report on air quality in Delaware, released by the American Lung Association earlier this year, gave New Castle County a failing grade for ozone pollution for the 19th year in a row.

"To protect public health, the nation must act to fight climate charge; core to that is cutting carbon pollution," the report states. "Unfortunately, the current EPA has taken steps that would dismantle our nation's first and only federal plan to limit carbon pollution from power plants."

People interested in speaking at the upcoming meeting on EPA’s proposal to deny Delaware’s Clean Air Act petitions are asked to email Valerie Gray of the state Division of Air Quality by July 12 at valerie.gray@state.de.us. Written comments also can be emailed to Gray by July 13.

News Journal reporters Scott Goss, Brittany Horn and Molly Murray contributed to this story. Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.