After Decades, Dirty Indiana County Power Plant To Get Clean

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Indiana County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(AP) Three years ago, the operators of one of the nation’s dirtiest coal-fired power plants warned of “immediate and devastating” consequences from the Obama administration’s push to clean up pollution from coal.

Faced with cutting sulfur dioxide pollution blowing into downwind states by 80 percent in less than a year, lawyers for EME Homer City Generation L.P. sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block the rule, saying it would cause it grave harm and bring a painful spike in electricity bills.

None of those dire predictions came to pass.

Instead, the massive western Pennsylvania power plant is expected in a few years to turn from one of the worst polluters in the country to a model for how coal-fired power plants can slash pollution.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/appanews/531925697423954165349272/After-decades-dirty-power-plant-to-get-clean

Another Bad Air Report For Lancaster County

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The air Lancaster County residents breathe continues to be among the worst in the nation, according to the American Lung Association.

In the ALA’s annual “State of the Air” report, which examined federal pollution records from 2010-2012, Lancaster County ranked as the 18th-worst metropolitan area out of 217 in the United States for average daily levels of particle pollution, which is composed of soot, dust particles and aerosols.

The Harrisburg-York-Lebanon metro area was tied with Lancaster.

Lancaster County had an average of 4.7 unhealthy days per year over the three-year period, compared to three unhealthy days in last year’s report.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/another-bad-air-report-for-lancaster-county/article_4126c060-d094-11e3-a95e-001a4bcf6878.html

Many Weapons In ‘War On Coal’ Deployed Long Before Obama Took Office

The coal industry can be excused for thinking there’s a massive, organized, palm-rubbing effort to make its life difficult — the war on coal, in short.

It’s a “war” that’s been decades in the making, with few regulations actually originating with the Obama administration.  Yet the current swarm of actions also underscores the extent to which the White House can influence which rules get written, enforced or buried by delays and litigation.

“It’s not a war on coal for warring on coal’s sake,” said David Spence, associate professor of law, politics and regulation at the University of Texas.

Rather, it’s kind of a perfect storm of actions that have been simmering for a long time.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/many-weapons-in-war-on-coal-deployed-long-before-obama-took-office-698992/#ixzz2blfnoFXX

Report: Air Gets Clearer In Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Metro Area

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Air quality in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre region has showed marked improvement — to the point that a report card to be issued today will reveal the region’s best grades in the 14-year history of the annual survey.

The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2013” report finds that the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area has cut year-round and daily particle (soot) pollution levels since the 2012 report, in keeping with a trend seen across the nation. Along with improvements in particle pollution, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre experienced fewer unhealthy days of high ozone or smog.

Overall, the report shows the air quality in the region, and nationwide, continues the long-term trend to improving.

“The air in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is certainly cleaner than when we started the ‘State of the Air’ report 14 years ago,” said Deb Brown, president and chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. “Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has experienced a great year for air quality, all of the findings this year were in a positive direction.  But the work is not done, and we must set stronger health standards for pollutants and clean up sources of pollution in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to protect the health of our citizens.”

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/457076/Report:-Air-gets-clearer-in-area