Local Residents and Environmental Groups Join for Legal Battle Against GenOn’s Portland Generating Station

GenOn has chosen to fight the EPA’s ruling that its Portland coal-fired plant is polluting two states

Philadelphia – On February 2nd, local families affected by pollution from GenOn Energy’s Portland Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania, will join the fight against the energy giant. Residents, who live and work in the area affected by the plant’s pollution, will formally seek to intervene through the Sierra Club and Clean Air Council in support of the EPA’s finding that the Portland coal-fired power plant is polluting the State of New Jersey’s air.

Last year, the State of New Jersey filed a petition with the EPA, asking it to prevent the Portland plant from releasing enough sulfur dioxide air pollution to cause violations of health-based air quality standards in New Jersey. The EPA granted New Jersey’s petition under the Clean Air Act, requiring GenOn to clean up the Portland Generating Station. Rather than clean up the plant’s pollution, on January 6th, GenOn Energy, owner of the Portland Generating Station, filed a petition against the Environmental Protection Agency asking for a review of the EPA’s decision to limit sulfur dioxide pollution from the Portland coal-fired power plant. 

Joined by environmentalists, the would-be interveners will speak before EPA’s offices, calling on GenOn to abide by the EPA’s finding and clean up the pollution from the Portland plant. The event will take place Thursday February 2, 2012 at 12:00pm infront of the EPA Region 3 Regional Office, 1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19103.

For more information please contact Katie Feeney at (215) 567-4004 x 112 or kfeeney@cleanair.org