East Texas power plant focus of EPA settlement

Longview News Journal
From staff reports
July 19, 2023

The Sierra Club announced Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to settle a lawsuit involving pollution produced by the Martin Lake Power Plant near Tatum in Rusk County.

The plant is operated by Luminant, a subsidiary of Vistra Corp. 

The Sierra Club announced in the fall it intended to sue the EPA for "failing to impose a Federal Implementation Plan to eliminate harmful levels of sulfur dioxide pollution from Luminant’s Martin Lake coal-fired power plant."

The Sierra Club said the EPA had agreed to settle the suit "over the agency's failure to act on a Texas plan to reduce "harmful sulfur dioxide pollution in East Texas." The proposed settlement calls for the EPA to either approve a plan Texas developed or issue its own plan no later than Dec. 31 2024.

“This settlement is the next step in a long process of getting EPA to bring Texas into compliance with the law,” said Misti O’Quinn, senior field organizer for Sierra Club, in a statement. “The people of East Texas have been breathing Martin Lake’s pollution for far too long while Luminant and Vistra avoid installing effective pollution controls that are standard and TCEQ stacks the cards against ordinary people in favor of wealthy industry. A federal plan requiring the coal plant to clean up would level the playing field.”

Rusk and Panola counties have been designated as being in “nonattainment” for national air quality standards since 2017 because of high levels of sulfur dioxide pollution, which largely comes from coal power plants and industrial facilities. Federal law requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to submit a plan on pollution reductions for the area since those counties are in nonattainment.

"TCEQ submitted an inadequate plan for Rusk and Panola counties in 2022," information from the Sierra Club says. "EPA was required to reject or approve the plan, but it failed to act by the statutory deadline, so Sierra Club sued in February.

"Sierra Club is urging EPA to reject the TCEQ plan and issue a strong federal plan requiring reduced pollution coming out of the Martin Lake coal plant in Tatum. Residents living near the coal plant have shared experiences of health problems and reduced quality of life, as SO2 pollution is known to harm human health.""

Members of the public can submit comments on the proposed settlement by Aug. 16 by visiting tinyurl.com/ypyc98p, with Sierra Club expecting to hear early next year whether the EPA will approve the state plan or reject it and develop its own plan.

In February, Vistra said the Sierra Club's lawsuit was premature.

"Despite Sierra Club’s assertions, the state of Texas developed a state plan that requires Martin Lake to operate at a reduced emission rate to ensure compliance with the standard. This plan went into effect in February 2022 with additional restrictions effective in July. Since July, the ambient monitor has measured sulfur dioxide below the standard," the Vistra statement said.  "That plan has been at EPA for its review and approval since last year.

"Additionally, Sierra Club’s case is premature. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is presently considering whether EPA lawfully issued the original nonattainment designation for the county where Martin Lake is located. If the designation is not lawful, there is no basis for a federal plan in the first place. Luminant is committed to providing reliable, safe, and affordable electricity. As one of the largest power generation facilities in the state, our Martin Lake power plant plays an important role in grid reliability for Texas."