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March 9, 2007

For More Information Contact:
Katie Nekola, Staff Attorney
   608.212.8751 (cell)
Joyce Harms, Communications Director
   608.212.8752 (cell)

Oak Creek Power Plant water discharge permit now in question Judge determines previous ruling was flawed

Madison, WI - According to a ruling handed down recently by Dane County Circuit Court, the water discharge permit for the new Oak Creek Power Plant must now be sent back for reconsideration by the State Division of Hearings and Appeals. The Circuit Court’s ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed by Clean Wisconsin and Sierra Club last August challenging the Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination Permit (WPDES) issued by DNR for the open-water cooling system being constructed by WE Energies at the Elm Road Generating Station site.

“This decision affirms what we’ve been saying since 2003: that this is an illegal facility,” said Katie Nekola, staff attorney for Clean Wisconsin. “When the DNR reconsiders this permit as directed by Judge Gaylord, it will have no choice but to invalidate the permit.”

The Circuit Court’s ruling requires that the water discharge permit for the facility be reconsidered by an Administrative Law Judge, who must take into consideration a recent federal ruling affecting EPA’s definitions for power plant construction and their correlating environmental regulations. A central issue is whether the Oak Creek plant is considered a new or existing facility. The water discharge permit for the Oak Creek plant was erroneously issued under rules governing existing facilities, and therefore its cooling system may meet less stringent environmental requirements. The ruling in Dane County Circuit Court, however, falls in line with the federal court ruling in New York that defines power plants similar to Oak Creek as new facilities, which therefore must comply with a more protective set of environmental regulations.

The DNR’s permit allows WE Energies to remove water from Lake Michigan to cool its giant coal-fired power plants currently under construction. The open-water cooling system would:

• Extend a nearly two mile long pipeline out into Lake Michigan
• Take in billion of gallons of water per day
• Increase the temperature of the water to levels shown to cause large-scale destruction of fish and shellfish.

Neighboring states such as Illinois have banned this type of cooling water intake system because it is far more harmful to Lake Michigan than alternatives.

“The fact is, it’s not possible to comply with standards that will protect Lake Michigan and still use this type of cooling system,” said Nekola. “This water discharge system is a disaster for the Lake Michigan ecosystem.”

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Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin’s clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and corporations accountable. Founded in 1970 as Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, Clean Wisconsin exposes corporate polluters, makes sure existing environmental laws are enforced, and educates citizens and businesses. Phone: 608-251-7020, Fax: 608-251-1655, Email: info@cleanwisconsin.org, Website: www.cleanwisconsin.org.