BALTIMORE, MD – Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh [D] announced Aug. 29 that Maryland has entered into a consent decree on behalf of the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) with NRG Chalk Point LLC (“NRG”) and related entities for nitrogen exceedances at the Chalk Point and Dickerson electric generating stations. As part of the consent decree, NRG will pay a $1 million penalty and take steps to protect and restore the environment under the agreement filed in federal court.
The Chalk Point Electric Generating Station, located on the shores of the Patuxent River in Prince George’s County, and the Dickerson Electric Generating Station, located on the shores of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, are two of the state’s largest coal-burning power plants.
“The Office of the Attorney General is determined to protect our citizens and our waterways from pollution,” said Frosh. “This consent decree will improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and should serve as a reminder that we all play a role in protecting our environment, including our corporate citizens.”
NRG Energy, which operates the Chalk Point and Dickerson power plants, also will perform $1 million in environmental projects and upgrade wastewater treatment plant technologies at the coal-burning facilities under the agreement. Maryland, NRG and other parties to the case filed a joint motion in federal court to enter a consent decree that contains the agreed settlement of alleged violations of the plants’ water discharge permits.
“Power plants have a responsibility to keep Maryland’s rivers, skies, and lands clean for all,” said Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles. “This strong enforcement action includes a stiff penalty, improved technology at the plants to prevent nitrogen pollution, and significant investments in projects to protect the health of our priceless Potomac and Patuxent rivers.”
On June 11, 2013, the Attorney General filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of the state, seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief to bring the plants into compliance. The consent decree resolves the litigation. As part of the settlement, both plants will install and operate state-of-the-art Membrane Ultra-filtration Technology at their wastewater treatment plants by October 1, 2016. In addition, the plants will pay the State a penalty of $1 million, and will implement $1 million dollars’ worth of supplemental environmental projects designed to produce lasting nitrogen load reductions to the Patuxent and Potomac river sheds.
Following installation of new air pollution control technology at the plants, the State issued new discharge permits requiring each plant to limit their nitrogen and phosphorus discharges to certain annual maximum loads. The new wastewater treatment systems designed and installed at the plants were unable to achieve the level of nitrogen reductions required to meet their permit limits.
