Consumers Energy Will Update Equipment and Fund Projects
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Consumers Energy, a subsidiary of CMS Energy Corporation, provides electricity and natural gas to 6.5 million residents in all 68 counties of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Under EPA’s Power Plant Initiative, in 2007, the company was issued a notice of violation for opacity violations at five of its plants. In 2008, the company was issued a notice of violation alleging that projects undertaken at four plants triggered Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) requirements. The EPA also alleged violations relating to Title V permits and New Source Performance Standards.
In September 2014, the EPA and Consumers Energy reached a settlement securing injunctive relief from all 12 of the company’s coal-fired power units. Under the consent decree, the company will implement a number of measures to reduce air pollutants, including approximately 46,500 tons per year of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), including:
- Installation and operation of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to reduce NOx emissions at four units;
- Installation and operation of flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) technology to reduce SO2 emissions at three units;
- Installation and operation of dry sorbent injection (DSI) at two units;
- Meeting unit-specific emissions limitations by optimizing existing particulate matter (PM) controls and adding new baghouses on four units;
- Retiring five units and retiring or refueling two units;
- Committing to install and operate or enter into long-term power purchase agreements for 400 MW of new wind power generation capacity;
- Compliance with annual plant tonnage limits for NOx and SO2; and
- Annual surrender of any excess SO2 and NOx allowances that result from actions taken under the consent decree.
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Also as part of the settlement, Consumers Energy agreed to spend at least $7.7 million on a variety of environmental mitigation projects to be completed within 5 years. These include:
- $500,000 to the National Park Service for ecological restoration or invasive species remediation at Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park;
- Up to $3 million for projects involving vehicle replacement with alternative fuel or compressed natural gas vehicles, retrofitting diesel engines and fueling infrastructure, such as electric charging or natural gas fueling stations;
- Up to $4 million for development or installation of one or more renewable energy projects involving wind, solar, or anaerobic digestion with nutrient recovery/removal;
- $1 million to $2 million to sponsor a wood-burning appliance project to replace and/or retrofit older high-emissions wood- and coal-burning appliances with cleaner, more efficient appliances and technologies;
- Up to $500,000 for energy-efficiency projects for low-income residents and/or public schools to reduce or avoid emissions of criteria pollutants; and
- Up to $2 million for acquisition, donation, and/or restoration of ecologically significant lands.
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In addition to the emissions control measures and environmental projects, Consumers Energy will pay a $2.7 million civil penalty. However, the agreement does not include any admission of wrongdoing on the part of the company. The Consumers Energy action is the EPA’s 29th settlement under the national enforcement initiative. When all of the pollution control measures called for under the various settlements have been installed and implemented, the EPA claims the total combined SO2 and NOx emissions reductions will exceed 2 million tons each year.