Environment Department sues El Paso Electric
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO - The state Environment Department has sued El Paso Electric Co. for alleged air quality violations at the utility's Rio Grande Electric Power Generating Station.
The lawsuit was filed recently in state district court in Santa Fe, alleging multiple violations of New Mexico's Air Quality Control Act. The facility is located near the border between El Paso, Texas, and Sunland Park, N.M.
El Paso Electric spokeswoman Teresa Souza said the lawsuit is an old dispute about some ambiguous language in an air permit that has been clarified. She said the plant is in compliance with the air permit.
Environment Department spokeswoman Marissa Stone said that the department issued a compliance order to El Paso Electric for excess emissions violations about two years ago and those violations have not been resolved.
Stone added that the company's recent emissions also are in excess of its permit limits.
As part of the lawsuit, the Environment Department claims El Paso Electric violated more than 350 of the maximum emission rates for oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide and failed to report deviations from the maximum emission rates.
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Ontario will not renew electricity deal with Quebec
TORONTO - The Ontario government does not plan to renew the Ontario-Quebec Electricity Trade Agreement, Radio-Canada is reporting.
The seven-year contract, which expires next year, aims to reduce Ontario's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by buying 2.3 Terawatt-hours of electricity from Quebec annually — that corresponds to about seven per cent of Hydro-Quebec's average annual exports.
The announcement comes as the provincially owned Quebec utility continues its legal battle over a plan to export power to Massachusetts.
The Ontario agreement has guaranteed a seasonal exchange of energy, since Quebec has a power surplus in summer, and the province's electricity needs increase in the winter.…
