Conservation Law Foundation Applauds Draft EPA Permit Requiring PSNH’s Merrimack Station To Reduce Coal Plant’s Harmful Impacts on Local Waters, Fish and Residents

CONTACT:
Karen Wood, CLF, (617) 850-1722 or kwood@clf.org
Melissa Hoffer, CLF, (978) 505-8545 or mhoffer@clf.org

CONCORD, NH  September 30, 2011—Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has issued the following statement in response to the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued today by EPA for PSNH’s Merrimack Station coal-fired power plant in Bow, NH:

“EPA has rightly called PSNH to account for the harmful impacts on the Merrimack River that occur as a result of the massive water intake and heated and chemical-laced water discharges that are associated with the coal plant’s obsolete water cooling system,” said Melissa Hoffer, vice president, CLF. We commend EPA for requiring PSNH to ensure that Merrimack Station is operating in a way that is both protective of the fragile river ecosystem and in compliance with the law.”

The updated NPDES permit requires PSNH to install a modern “closed-cycle” cooling system that will nearly eliminate the harmful impacts associated with the current system that have resulted, over the plant’s lifetime, in a 94 percent decline of species that once lived in that part of the Merrimack River. The current method of cooling the plant pulls living creatures into the system, crushing, mutilating and suffocating them, and traps fish and other aquatic life against the screens covering pipes that pull water into the system, injuring or killing them.

Hoffer continued, “The upgrades to Merrimack Station that EPA is requiring are long overdue. Installing a modern closed-cycle cooling system and operating it year-round will decrease the plant’s discharge of heated water by nearly 100 percent. In addition, the upgraded system will dramatically reduce the loss of adult fish, fish larvae and fish eggs that today are getting sucked into the structures and killed because it doesn’t require that same volume of water from the river.”

Of the Permit’s updated requirements for discharges of pollutants, Hoffer said, “The State of NH and EPA have determined that the Merrimack River is already polluted with mercury, a potent neurotoxin, which threatens people, as well as birds and mammals that consume fish from the River. We are very disappointed that EPA has not required PSNH to reduce the discharge of mercury from its new scrubber system to zero. EPA could require zero liquid discharge and other technologies  to prevent PSNH from further polluting the river with mercury. No amount of mercury in an already impaired river is safe.”

Jonathan Peress, vice president and director of CLF’s Clean Energy and Climate Change program, said, “PSNH previously told NH regulators that it would not seek to discharge mercury-laden wastewater from the scrubber system into the Merrimack River, apparently again misleading them. EPA’s finding notes that PSNH designed, financed and constructed the new Merrimack Station wastewater treatment system without first discussing with EPA whether it would meet the standards required under the Clean Water Act. This is just further evidence of PSNH’s repeated pattern of seeking to avoid regulator review of all the facts related to the environmental impacts of its operations.

Peress continued, “It continues to be clear that PSNH is struggling to operate Merrimack Station in compliance with the law and with regard for the health and well-being of its customers and residents of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. No matter what PSNH spends, it will not be able to turn this 50-year-old dinosaur into an economically-viable generating facility that benefits the people of New England. Still, as long as this plant remains in operation, it must comply with the law and we commend EPA for holding PSNH accountable.”

Background on Coal-Free New England

CLF is working to make New England coal-free by 2020. For more than 20 years, CLF has held the region’s coal-fired power plants accountable for violations of clean air and water laws, while winning tougher regulations to protect the environment and public health. CLF filed the appeals of state permits that resulted in the 2011 shutdown of Somerset Station, in Somerset, Massachusetts, and was instrumental in the fight to shutter Salem Harbor Station in Salem, Massachusetts, which is now planned to shut down in 2014. With its tenacious legal advocacy, policy initiatives and regulatory expertise, CLF is applying pressure in all the right places to rid New England of old, dirty coal plants, keep the lights on at reasonable cost, and make way for clean renewable energy to power our region.

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) protects New England’s environment for the benefit of all people. Using the law, science and the market, CLF creates solutions that preserve natural resources, build healthy communities, and sustain a vibrant economy region-wide. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.