Dirtiest US coal-fired power plant applies for EPA exemption

Montana’s Colstrip power plant has applied for a two-year exemption from Environmental Protection Agency standards compelling stringent mercury and air pollution controls. Talen Energy Corp. subsidiary Talen Montana owns the plant along with Northwestern Energy Group Inc., among others.

The plant, located in eastern Montana, has the highest emission rate of fine particulate matter out of any coal-burning plant in the nation, according to EPA data and the nonprofit Montana Environmental Information Center.

Talen Montana didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The EPA referred questions to the White House.

“We will not get ahead of the president, but we can confirm President Trump’s commitment to unleashing American energy, protecting our national security interests, and ensuring environmental stewardship,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in an email.

The aging 1,480-megawatt plant, which has two active-units, is the only coal-fired power plant in the US that hasn’t installed modern pollution controls to limit particulate matter, according to the EPA.

Coal-fired power plants are a major source of air pollutants, including particulate matter that is made up of dust, fly ash and other materials. When inhaled, the finest particles are able to penetrate deep into the lungs and even potentially the bloodstream, exacerbating heart and lung disease, causing asthma attacks and even sometimes leading to premature death.

Trump may allow some power plants, chemical makers and others to bypass a range of regulations under the Clean Air Act using an obscure provision of the Clean Air Act, according to the EPA, which notified companies last week they had set up an email for companies to apply for the exemption.

“The Trump EPA is offering a free pass for the country’s dirtiest power plant to keep polluting the air we breathe,” said Amanda Levin, director of policy analysis at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Colstrip is the only coal plant in the entire nation that doesn’t have modern pollution controls. It’s long past time for it to clean up its act.”

Colstrip’s effort to obtain a waiver is being backed by Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines and the rest of the state’s congressional delegation, who said limits on air toxics for coal-fired power plants put in place by the Biden administration would require the installation of $500 million in new pollution controls. The delegation said that would make the upgrades both technologically and economically unavailable — a requirement in order to achieve a presidential exemption.

“All of this endangers the economic viability of the plant, which if closed, would undermine the region’s electric grid as there is insufficient time to plan and construct adequate replacement generation,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.