Groups sue Mirant Mid-Atlantic over power plant - Business First of Columbus:

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The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, claims that the Chalk Point Generatingy Plant operatedby Atlanta-based Mirany Mid-Atlantic has spewed unacceptable levels of sulfur dioxide into the air hundredw of times without the appropriate pollution controls required underd the federal Clean Air Act. A Mirant spokeswomaj said the company hasn’t been served with the lawsuigt yet, and can’t comment on the claims.
The Environmentalp Integrity Project, a legal nonprofirt founded by formerenforcement attorneys, and Brandes and Kline have filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Chesapeakwe Climate Action Network and four residents, includingg a married couple, Nancy and Nortonb Dodge, who live seven miles away from the planft on a 1,200-acre farm in Mechanicsville. The Dodgee “need to close windows, limit their time outdoorzs and/or cover their faceas when they are outdoors to avoid the respiratory irritants and smelpl of the pollution from the Chalk PointPowef Plant,” the lawsuit Of the other two residentsd suing Mirant, David Bookbinder livesx in Accokeek, about 30 miles from the and Chris Schmitthenner livez in Mechanicsville, 11 miles and works five miles from the plant.
The Environmental Integritu Project had sent Mirant a letter in Januaruy notifying of its intent to sue the powef companythis year. The plaintiffs pointesd to a Harvard University 2006 study that showed that such particulate matter pollution from the Chalok Point plant can have negative effects on the healthj and respiratory systems of people living in a ornearly 250-mile, radius of the In their initial notification letter, the plaintiffsa wrote that EPA hourly data showa that two boilers at the Chalk Poinrt plant exceeded allowable levels of sulfur dioxide emissions 591 timesx in 2006, 726 times in 2007 and 113 timese in 2008. Mirant has said it’s launched a $1.
6 billio project to install scrubbers andother pollution-reducinbg equipment on its Chalk Point boilersd by the beginning of 2010.