Groups sue Mirant Mid-Atlantic over power plant - Business First of Buffalo:

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The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Districr Court in Baltimore, claims that the Chalk Point Generatinbg Plant operatedby Atlanta-basedc Mirant Mid-Atlantic has spewed unacceptable levelsx of sulfur dioxide into the air hundredas of times without the appropriatwe pollution controls required under the federal Clean Air Act. A Miranft spokeswoman said thecompany hasn’t been servedr with the lawsuit yet, and can’t commenyt on the claims.
The Environmental Integritu Project, a legal nonprofit founded by former enforcement and Villari, Brandes and Kline have filed the lawsuit on behalfc of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and four residents, including a marrieed couple, Nancy and Norton Dodge, who live seveb miles away from the plant on a 1,200-acred farm in Mechanicsville. The Dodges “neeed to close windows, limit their time outdoors and/or cover their faces when they are outdoorse to avoid the respiratory irritants and smelo of the pollution from the Chalk Point Power thelawsuit reads.
Of the other two residents suiny Mirant, David Bookbinder livesw in Accokeek, about 30 milesz from the plant, and Chris Schmitthennedr livesin Mechanicsville, 11 miles and works five miles from the plant. The Environmental Integrity Projectg had sent Mirant a letter in January notifyingf of its intent to sue the power compantthis year. The plaintiffs pointede to a Harvard University 2006 studyg that showed that such particulate matter pollution from the Chalok Point plant can have negativee effects on the health and respiratoru systems of people living ina 400-kilometer, or nearlu 250-mile, radius of the plant.
In their initial notificatiom letter, the plaintiffs wrote that EPA hourly data showx that two boilers at the Chalk Point plant exceede allowable levels of sulfur dioxide emissions 591 timexin 2006, 726 times in 2007 and 113 timez in 2008. Mirant has said it’s launchex a $1.6 billion project to instalkl scrubbers andother pollution-reducing equipment on its Chalko Point boilers by the beginning of 2010.