A new federal study shows that a coal-burning power plant in Eastern Oregon causes pollution in 10 protected parks and wilderness areas in three states.
BOARDMAN, Ore. — A new federal study shows that a coal-burning power plant in Eastern Oregon causes pollution in 10 protected parks and wilderness areas in three states.
Haze from the Portland General Electric plant near Boardman clouds views from Hells Canyon on the Idaho border, at Mount Rainier in Washington and Mount Jefferson in Central Oregon, according to the study.
Air in wilderness areas is supposed to be protected as the cleanest in the nation.
The U.S. Forest Service commissioned the analysis and provided a copy to PGE, the state's largest electric utility, but so far the federal agency has taken no action on it. The Oregonian newspaper obtained it through the Freedom of Information Act.
The findings raise the possibility that PGE will have to install millions of dollars worth of pollution controls at the Boardman plant, which was authorized in 1975 _ just in time to avoid overhauled provisions of the federal Clean Air Act. Federal authorities later acknowledged in a court case that the early authorization was a mistake.
Boardman is now one of only two major coal plants in the West without modern pollution controls and no immediate commitment to add them, said Patrick Cummins, air quality program manager for the Western Governors Association.
PGE officials have acknowledged that the plant is probably contributing to haze and said that they will address the problem if it's verified by another analysis with newer data, which is planned by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
"If this shows the controls are necessary and required, we will put them on," Mark Fryburg, environmental policy specialist with the company, told The Oregonian.
But an updated state study could take more than five years. The company has committed to accelerating the DEQ study, but not to adding controls on any speeded-up schedule.
Fitting the plant with scrubbers and other devices to capture compounds that create haze and acid rain could cost $150 million, Fryburg said. The plant, a major source of power and income for the Portland-based utility, has been off line since October because of breakdowns.
It's expected to be back in service later this month.
The Boardman plant, along with a nearby giant dairy complex, have come under increasing scrutiny as a source of worsening air pollution in the Columbia River Gorge plus acid rain and fog that eats away ancient Native American rock art.
Officials at the Forest Service, which manages the gorge, said they were surprised at the wide effects of the plant's emissions.
"The number of wilderness areas affected is almost unprecedented," said James Russell, manager of air resources and smoke management in the agency's regional office in Portland.
Source: Associated Press
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