Record Cleanup Order Ends AEP Lawsuit

A lineup of plaintiffs that included the states of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont, a dozen environmental groups including the Sierra Club and the Environmental Protection Agency have achieved a legal win against American Electric Power that is the “single largest environmental enforcement settlement in history”, according to MSNBC.

The settlement that defines the company’s cleanup agreement is to the tune of $4.6 billion. I had to double check that figure a few times, that is huge. But so has been the damage that AEP’s coal-fired power plants have been inflicting on landscapes, monuments and residents of the Northeastern US for failure to comply to the Clean Air Act.

Another staggering figure: AEP is required to reduce chemical emission by three quarters or 810,000 tons/year over the next decade. Does that mean they’ve been operating with emissions four times the legal limit? Those must have been some interesting board meetings like ‘Maybe no one will notice?’ or ‘We’re AEP, who’s gonna stop us?’.

I’m floored, this is big. You can read the whole article here Power firm agrees to record pollution cleanup. And also check out Want to stop Global Warming? Stop Coal at Inhabitat and Architecture2030.