Virginia might be Target for Coal Pollution Suit

RICHMOND, Va. -- - The attorney general of North Carolina will soon file a complaint with federal regulators that pollution coming from coal power plants in Virginia and six other states is thwarting North Carolina's efforts to clean its air.

The idea that smokestack pollution in Virginia drifts south contradicts an assertion made by Northeastern states in a 1999 lawsuit. Virginia utilities were accused of belching smoke from tall smokestacks that caused pollution to catch winds that move north.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper sent a letter this week to Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore and six states whose polluters are accused of keeping three Carolina areas from meeting federal pollution regulations.

Tim Murtaugh, spokesman for Kilgore's office, said it won't be clear what exactly North Carolina wants Virginia to do until a complaint is filed. After that happens, Kilgore will ask the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality what the state should do.

"At this point, we don't even know what companies they may be talking about," said Murtaugh.

The complaint from North Carolina underscores the feud between states and the federal government over how to enforce Environmental Protection Agency standards and the blame game that ensues when states' air pollution levels don't meet U.S. guidelines.

Virginia is at the front line of the debate, which has recently revolved around changes the EPA has made to the Clean Air Act. The new rules give power plants, refineries and manufacturers more flexibility to modify facilities that emit pollutants starting December 26.

States that believe the changes will increase pollution problems filed two separate lawsuits. Kilgore is leading a group of attorneys general that are supporting the EPA in the lawsuit.

North Carolina passed a law last year that made the state's standards for emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide stricter than EPA standards. Cooper said the Charlotte, Hickory and Lexington areas of North Carolina are projected to be in violation of federal standards even with the tough state rules.

Cooper said studies show that coal plants in Virginia and six other states contribute to the problem in North Carolina, which can ask the EPA to force plants in other states to cut emissions to help North Carolina be in compliance.

"Although we are taking this step, I believe it is critical that we work with you in addition to industry, environmental and public health officials in your state to find a way to solve this issue," said Cooper's letter to Kilgore.

Dominion Virginia Power, American Electric Power and six other utilities were accused in 1999 of not telling the EPA about changes made to coal plants that increased their emissions. New York and other Northeastern states latched on to the EPA suits, claiming the pollution drifts north.

Dominion signed a settlement with the states and the EPA in April, agreeing to spend $1.2 billion to reduce emissions at eight power plants in Virginia and West Virginia, including seven coal- fired plants in Virginia.

After the Dominion settlement, environmental groups urged Kilgore to join EPA lawsuits against AEP and other Southern utilities. The groups said that pollution coming from North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee is moving north to Virginia.