Southeastern PA Congressmen, Local Elected Officials Urge EPA to Reduce Brunner Island Coal Plant Pollution #BeyondCoal

Congressmen Bob Brady (PA-1), Matt Cartwright (PA-17) and Brendan Boyle (PA-13), along with 18 local elected officials sent letters and petitions to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this month urging the agency to close the loophole that permits the Brunner Island coal-fired power plant to continue operating without critical controls on smog-causing nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution. The pollution emitted from the plant has been found to degrade air quality and harm the health of residents in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Connecticut.

These letters follow a similar one filed by the entire Connecticut Congressional delegation several weeks ago after the states of Connecticut and Delaware filed Good Neighbor Petitions against the plant asserting that the Brunner Island power plant  makes it difficult for both states to meet health-based air quality standards. The letters are also accompanied by a petition signed by hundreds of Philadelphia residents requesting that the agency safeguard their lungs from the harmful pollution emitted by the Brunner Island coal plant.

In response, Thomas Schuster, Senior Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club, issued the following statement:

“On the heels of the petitions from Connecticut and Delaware, it is wonderful to see Pennsylvania’s own elected officials standing up for their constituent’s right to clean and safe air. It’s time for the EPA to take action to address the pollution that comes from the Brunner Island coal-fired power plant. This pollution is dangerous to vulnerable populations like young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory illness and can trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and even premature death.

These letters add to the growing chorus of citizens, regulators and elected officials from three states calling on the EPA to reduce pollution from the Brunner Island coal plant harming families in Pennsylvania and beyond. The EPA must act by the end of the year to ensure that the summer of 2016 was the last ozone season residents had to suffer from the excessive pollution spewed by this plant.”