"You can't really have effective enforcement and compliance with the law unless and until you have effective permitting," said Jane F. Barrett of the environmental law program at the University of Maryland law school.
According to the groups, the Chalk Point power plant in Prince George's County has been burning dirty fuel oil without installing equipment to control particle pollution as required by state and federal law. The plant burned more than 187 million gallons of the oil from 2005 through mid-2007, the groups say, likely spewing more than 1,000 tons of fine particles into the air. They contend that the plant has committed 1,400 violations of the federal Clean Air Act.
Schaeffer said he and others have been pressing the O'Malley administration to address these and other cases of industrial and power plant pollution for two years but have gotten little or no response. The groups asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year to make Maryland tighten its oversight of air pollution or take away the state's authority to regulate it. An EPA spokeswoman said federal officials are investigating the complaints.
The problems are puzzling and troubling, Schaeffer said, because Maryland has taken significant steps to curb air pollution, requiring reductions from power plants with the Healthy Air Act and pushing for cleaner cars by embracing limits set by California.
Mirant spokeswoman Misty Allen said that the environmental groups' claims are "baseless" and that the Chalk Point power plant is in compliance with state emissions standards. The plant burns "residual" fuel oil and does not have the pollution control equipment the groups say is needed, but Allen said the plant has been operating under a consent agreement with the state for the past two years that covers that.
Wheelabrator spokesman Frank Ferraro said his company's incinerator is in compliance with state laws and regulations.
Tad Aburn, the state's chief air pollution regulator, acknowledged that his agency is late in issuing the new Baltimore incinerator permit but said it was delayed while trying to respond to complaints raised by activists. He said the permit would be issued within two weeks. He declined to discuss the Mirant plant, except to say that the agency took enforcement action against it two years ago and has asked the Maryland attorney general's office to consider further action.
He defended his agency's record, saying the state is seen as being aggressive in enforcing pollution laws.
