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Sierra Club lawyer Bruce Nilles said the settlement would make Wisconsin a leader in reducing its reliance on dirty-burning coal and increasing its use of renewable energy.
The deal comes weeks after a federal judge ruled the Charter Street Power Plant in Madison has been operating in violation of the federal Clean Air Act for five years. The plant powers the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
The settlement requires the state to immediately reduce coal use at the plant by 15 percent, or about 20,000 tons of coal per year. By next November, the state will have to begin installing modern pollution controls or planning for a cleaner replacement plant.
The Sierra Club, a national environmental group, filed its lawsuit earlier this year after learning the plant failed to install pollution controls during upgrades as required by the Clean Air Act. As a result, pollution from the plant spiked in recent years along with campus energy use.
The deal averted a trial in federal court that had been scheduled to start Monday.
Nilles said the reduction at the plant amounts to about 240 railroad car loads of coal per year. He said it would cut pollution that contributes to high mercury levels in lakes, respiratory illness and global warming.
“Madisonians will see immediate benefits in terms of cleaner air,” Nilles said.
The settlement could pave the way for the state to replace the UW-Madison plant and an even older one that powers the Capitol with a new plant with 80 percent less emissions, he said. The state, however, agreed only to study that possibility for now.
In his ruling earlier this month, U.S. District Judge John Shabaz ordered the state to install pollution controls at the UW-Madison plant. He cited four instances since 2001 where the plant underwent upgrades that resulted in significant increases in emissions without obtaining the permits required under federal law.
The litigation uncovered similar problems at the Capitol plant and another one that powers a state prison in Waupun, Nilles said.
The settlement requires the state to review all maintenance projects at 12 coal-fired plants dating back to 1995 to see whether they complied with all state and federal regulations. The state would be required to fix any violations by instituting pollution controls, using different energy sources or replacing the plants by December 2009.
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said the settlement limits “the state’s growing exposure to Sierra Club’s attorneys’ fees.” Nilles would not say how much in fees his group would seek from the state in the coming months.
The agreement also settles two citations issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources against the UW-Madison plant for violating the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
The agency said a $1.5 million overhaul in 2004 to three of the plant’s boilers required a permit and should have included installation of pollution controls. The latter citation was for allowing coal runoff to seep into storm sewers that drain into one of the city’s popular lakes; the deal requires the plant to immediately stop the runoff.
DNR Secretary Matt Frank said he wanted any agreement to look at the entire state rather than a single plant in Madison.
“We’re charting the future for Wisconsin to be a leader in the production and use of cleaner, renewable energy,” he said in a statement.
Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor for facilities at UW-Madison, said the university would reduce emissions by conserving energy and generating and buying energy from renewable sources.
The settlement requires the university to join with the Sierra Club to promote conservation by encouraging employees and students to shut down unused computers, replace light bulbs with more efficient ones and increase recycling.
“Today’s agreement is a victory for all of us who are interested in moving forward with cleaner technology and ensuring a reliable source of energy for the campus,” Fish said.
