City to Pursue 'All Available' Options Against Mirant

Company Plans To Move Forward With Stack Merger

The mitts are off between the City of Alexandria and Mirant Corp. in the battle over the energy company's decision to merge the smokestacks at its Alexandria power plant.

The city announced last week that it would "pursue all available legal and administrative options" to force Mirant to stop its "illegal construction activities" at its Potomac River plant in north Old Town overlooking the river.

The city's announcement came just days after Atlanta-based Mirant announced it would immediately begin merging the five smokestacks at its coal-fired plant into two stacks, which the company says will improve air quality in the immediate area by dispersing the pollutants higher into the atmosphere.

The back-and-forth is the latest in the city's long-running campaign to close the plant, which sits on a prominent location next to the popular Mount Vernon jogging and biking trail.

"The plant is outdated," said Alexandria City Attorney Ignacio Pessoa. "It's a horrible polluter, and it needs to either clean up to contemporary standards or shut down."

Many residents say the plant is a health concern as well as an eyesore in the historic area that draws thousands of tourists -- and Washingtonians -- every year.

"I get a black dust all over my pretty front porch when the wind blows this way," said Judy Lowe, who lives not far from the plant in the Del Ray neighborhood. "I always have, and I've lived on this street 50 years next year."

The Mirant plant is one of five coal-fired power plants that contribute to poor regional air quality, environmental experts say. It was shut down in 2005 for environmental violations and reopened after stricter environmental controls were put in place.

The plant supplies electricity throughout the region, including to the District's central business district, and is important to the regional grid, company officials have said. City officials dispute its usefulness, saying new high-voltage transmission lines have rendered it unnecessary. The plant does not supply power to Virginia.

The plant was built in 1949, when many other industrial operations lined Alexandria's waterfront. It now sits in the middle of residential developments.

Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille (D) said Mirant's plans to push ahead with merging the stacks "short-circuits" the city's regulatory process and goes against state directives. He said the state's Air Pollution Control Board had asked the company to provide additional data and to undergo review and public comment.

Pessoa said the city wants the state environmental agencies to shut down the merger operations immediately. If they don't, he said, the city will review its options.