Thursday, July 22, 2004
The states are not seeking any monetary damages.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- California, New York and six other states sued the nation's five largest electricity generators Wednesday seeking to use nuisance-abatement law to reduce power-plant emissions that they say contribute to global warming.
The states contend that Columbus-based American Electric Power, Southern Co., Cincinnati-based Cinergy, Xcel Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority "contribute to the public nuisance" of global warming by emitting 652 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
The suit is the first use of public-nuisance law to fight global warming and the first time government officials have sued private companies to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, said California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
"This lawsuit opens a new legal frontier in the fight against global warming," Lockyer said. "Global warming poses a serious threat to our environment, our natural resources, our public health and safety and our economy. Requiring these major polluters to do their part is crucial to fighting the threat."
Attorneys for Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Iowa, Wisconsin and the city and state of New York also joined the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in New York.
The suit does not seek monetary damages but asks the court to order the power-plant operators to reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions. Company officials responded that they already are taking steps to reduce their emissions of the gas.
Response
"Filing a lawsuit is not a constructive way to address climate change," said Melissa McHenry, spokeswoman for American Electric Power, the nation's largest power generator. "It's a global issue that requires a coordinated and meaningful international response."
McHenry said the attorneys overstated the company's greenhouse emissions at 220 million tons a year and said the company's plants last year emitted 170 million tons. She said the company has agreed to cap and reduce greenhouse gases in Chicago 10 percent by 2006, is a leader in producing clean energy from wind and is working to develop other alternative power sources.
Other companies had similar responses. Southern's new power plants use cleaner-burning natural gas, and the company is working to develop technology to reduce emissions from coal, said spokeswoman Tiffany Gilstrap.
Xcel has invested $1 billion in a program to reduce the emissions at three power plants in the Minneapolis area, and has completed a $211 million program that has dramatically cut emissions from Denver-area power plants, spokesman Paul Adelmann said. Xcel also is the country's second-biggest wind-power generator and plans to triple its wind-power generation to 2,500 megawatts by 2012, he said. A megawatt powers about 750 homes.
"Xcel Energy is very proud of its environmental performance," Adelmann said. "We're in the midst of some of the largest voluntary emission-reduction programs in the nation."
Cinergy said it has pledged to reduce greenhouse gases 5 percent below the company's 2000 emission level by 2010.
And the TVA is developing 1,200 megawatts of emission-free nuclear generation, modernizing and upgrading its hydroelectric generation and purchasing 27 megawatts of wind power, said John Shipp, vice president of environmental policy and planning.
Threat
The states argue that the five companies account for 24 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by the U.S. electric-power industry, which is responsible for 40 percent of the greenhouse emissions in the country and 10 percent in the world.
Lockyer said the threat to California from global warming includes increased heat-related deaths, worsening smog, coastal erosion and reduced Sierra snow pack that the state relies on for its water and power supply.
Deputy Attorney General Will Brieger said nuisance law has been used successfully in both state and federal courts to fight environmental damage.