Utility, state settle over pollution data; WPS failed to disclose information on new technology

WAUSAU, WISCONSIN - Wisconsin Public Service Corp. and the state Department of Justice have settled a court case stemming from the company's proposal to build a new coal-fired power plant near Wausau.

The Green Bay utility was accused of withholding information about an emerging method of pollution control technology being used in new coal plants. Under rules of the state Public Service Commission, utilities are required to "fully, specifically and correctly" respond to questions posed by the agency's staff.

The failure to provide the pollution control information was cited by a state administrative law judge who approved an air-emissions permit for the coal plant. The state Public Service Commission referred the case to the office of Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, which announced the settlement recently.

"Utilities must obey the law and follow the appropriate process as administered by the Public Service Commission, and ultimately the people of Wisconsin," Lautenschlager said in a statement.

Wisconsin Public Service said the Public Service Commission's decision to approve construction of the plant would have been the same even if the information had been provided. A state judge ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club also concluded that it was "unlikely" that the outcome of the air-pollution permit would have been changed.

"We should have provided the information for the sake of transparency, to explain that we viewed the technology as unproven at that time," said Charlie Schrock, WPS president of generation. "Even though it didn't impact the decisions, disclosing the information and explaining our reasoning would have avoided any question."

But the Sierra Club criticized the settlement, saying the attorney general missed an opportunity to investigate the case further. The new technology, which would have cost $29 million to install, would have resulted in 90% fewer emissions of sulfur dioxide than will now be permitted to be released from the Weston 4 plant.

Sierra Club has a suit pending in Dane County Circuit Court objecting to the permit the state granted for the new coal plant.

As part of the settlement, Wisconsin Public Service has agreed to pay the maximum applicable penalty of $6,463, the attorney general's office said.

The company also agreed to make $15,000 in charitable contributions, including $6,000 to the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point to fund scholarships for teachers to attend a master's level energy education course, $3,000 to the Raptor Center in Antigo, and $6,000 to the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund, a charitable group that helps provide funding to families struggling to pay their heating bills.

"We need some accountability, and small fines is not accountability," said Jennifer Feyerherm, a Sierra Club spokeswoman.

"This certainly doesn't reassure the people of Wisconsin that this won't happen again and it doesn't provide any incentive for other companies to think that it would be a bad idea to withhold information from the DNR. In fact, it might be cheaper."

The $770 million power plant in the village of Weston, just outside Wausau, is under construction and slated to open in 2008.