Florida Ranks In Top Ten For Most Smog- And Soot-Forming Pollution: George W. Bush Administration Air Policies Allow Nearly 10 Million Tons Of Excess Soot And Smog Pollution

TALLAHASSEE—Florida ranks third for total power plant emissions of nitrogen oxides, fifth for total carbon dioxide emissions and ninth for total sulfur dioxide emissions, according to “Lethal Legacy”, a new report released today by the Florida Public Interest Research Group. “Lethal Legacy” is the first analysis of newly released EPA data on power plant emissions from 2002.

“Pollution from dirty power plants is a serious threat to public health,” said Holly Binns, clean air and energy advocate with Florida PIRG. Rather than seizing the opportunity to clean up these old, polluting power plants by enforcing the Clean Air Act, President Bush's administration has spearheaded the effort to weaken our most important clean air protections."

The vast majority of air pollution from Florida's dirtiest power plants would be cleaned up with modern pollution controls under the Clean Air Act. Instead, this pollution will not be addressed under the Bush administration's new rules relaxing power plant emission limits.

"Children and the elderly are especially susceptible to the health impacts of breathing dirty air. These pollutants, and the soot and smog they create, are known to cause serious health problems, triggering asthma attacks, heart attacks, and even causing premature death," said Dr. Ronald Saff, a Tallahassee physician who specializes in treating asthma and is a Council Member of the American Lung Association of Florida.

According to the report, 548 of the nation’s 1,100 power plants are responsible for emitting more than 98 percent of all smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution and 99 percent of all soot-forming sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution from the entire electric sector. These same 548 plants are responsible for 91 percent of carbon dioxide, the leading cause of global warming, from the entire electric sector. Twenty-six of the 548 dirtiest power plants are in Florida.

This disproportionate amount of pollution is because Congress gave older power plants a temporary exemption or “grandfathering” from new pollution standards when the Clean Air Act was first written. These old, grandfathered plants are still using pollution controls from the 1950s and ‘60s, and are emitting far more pollution per unit of electric output than a new plant could emit.

By analyzing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions data, “Lethal Legacy” finds that in 2002:

• Five Florida plants rank among the top 50 plants in the nation with the most NOx emissions. They are: Crystal River (16th), Big Bend (Apollo Beach) (24th), St. Johns River Power (40th), and Seminole (48th).

• The 26 dirtiest power plants in Florida emitted a total of 241,843 tons of nitrogen oxides, the pollution that forms ozone smog and can trigger asthma attacks. Research has shown that this pollution may cause asthma in athletic children. 62 percent of nitrogen oxide pollution from power plants could be eliminated with faithful enforcement of the Clean Air Act.

• The 26 dirtiest power plants in Florida emitted 449,617 tons of sulfur dioxide, the pollution that forms “fine particle” soot and causes asthma attacks, heart disease and even death. Research published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that this pollution may also cause lung cancer. Seventy percent of this pollution would be eliminated with faithful enforcement of the Clean Air Act.

• The Crystal River plant ranks 16th and the F.J. Gannon plant in Tampa ranks 46th in the nation for the most SO2 emissions. However, the F.J. Gannon plant is required to substantially reduce emissions by December of 2004 due to a Clean Air Act enforcement action implemented under the Clinton administration.

• The 26 dirtiest power plants in Florida emitted 104,261,375 tons of carbon dioxide. The Crystal River plant ranks 23rd in the country and first in Florida for the most CO2 emissions. Carbon dioxide has been identified as the leading cause of global warming.

"It’s high time to require old power plants to meet the same pollution standards that have been met by newer plants for years," said Susan Glickman with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “This would prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths from heart and lung disease each year.”

Although President Bush promised to clean up emissions, including carbon dioxide, from old power plants during the 2000 campaign, he has taken two major actions to the contrary since taking office. First, the EPA issued controversial changes to the rules governing industrial emissions that extend the grandfathering status of power plants in perpetuity. "Lethal Legacy" shows that these changes to a program known as New Source Review (NSR) will conservatively allow 7.1 million tons of soot-forming SO2 emissions, and 2.7 million tons of smog-forming NOx emissions to go unchecked.

Second, the administration’s Clear Skies legislative proposal further weakens the Clean Air Act’s programs for soot, smog and toxic mercury, while ignoring the threat of global warming entirely. Clear Skies exempts power plants from Clean Air Act rules that would require plant-specific controls for NOx, SO2 and mercury, and replaces those programs with pollution caps that allow higher levels of emissions over a longer period of time compared to current law. Moreover, it continues to allow power plants to emit unlimited amounts of CO2.

“The Bush administration’s broken promises reverse more than 30 years of progress made under the Clean Air Act,” said Tom Sadler, Florida organizer with the National Environmental Trust. “If the administration’s policies stand, the public will bear the consequences in the form of respiratory disease, acid rain, haze in our national parks and global warming,” he continued.

Instead of rolling back clean air protections, the organizations advocated stronger enforcement of the current Clean Air Act, and a comprehensive federal policy on power plant pollution to include mandatory reductions of CO2.

Florida Public Interest Research Group (Florida PIRG) is a state-wide, non-partisan, non-profit public interest advocacy group. View the full report on our website at www.floridapirg.org.

Dr. Ronald Saff practices in Tallahassee, is a board certified allergist–immunologist and internist and a council member of American Lung Association of Florida. Dr. Saff is also a part-time health columnist for the Tallahassee Democrat.

National Environmental Trust (NET) is a non-profit, non-partisan environmental advocacy group established to inform citizens about environmental problems and how they affect our health and quality of life. To learn more about our current campaigns and advocacy programs visit our web site at www.environet.org.

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) is a nonprofit organization committed to protecting the environment and public health in the Southeast. SACE achieves this by promoting clean energy policies at the state and federal level that would benefit the region. Visit our website at www.cleanenergy.org.

Download the charts showing the Florida power plants with the highest pollution levels. (PDF, 9KB)

Download the Florida emissions comparison chart. (PDF, 48KB)

Download the map showing excess emissions by state. (PDF, 79KB)