City to Pursue 'All Available' Options Against Mirant
Company Plans To Move Forward With Stack Merger

By Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 30, 2007; VA03

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"The plant is outdated," said Alexandria City Attorney Ignacio Pessoa.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.

Julia Wellman, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said the agency has called a meeting of the control board to make a decision on whether Mirant needs a permit to push ahead with its work.

"The board has indicated that it wants to make all permit-related decisions on the Potomac River plant," she said, adding that the meeting would be "soon."

This summer, the department reversed its position that the company needed a permit to proceed with the stack merger. The reversal infuriated city officials.

"That's all well and good that they're calling a meeting, but that does not excuse the DEQ staff to take immediate action in light of this flagrant violation by Mirant," Pessoa said.

Mirant says the merged smokestacks will look the same as the old ones but have higher exit gas speeds, which will help air quality in the immediate neighborhood by pushing pollutants higher.

"We find it unfortunate that they're not embracing this environmental improvement," said Debra Raggio Bolton, Mirant's assistant general counsel and vice president. "It's a win-win."

"That's simply nonsense," Pessoa said. "The stack merge results in increased pollution over a wider area."

There already have been two court cases involving the city in the dispute, and more legal wrangling could ensue.

In May, both cases ended with rulings in favor of the power plant. In one case, the Virginia Supreme Court found that the city improperly used its zoning power to regulate the plant.

Mirant officials said that the $30 million project is expected to be completed by February and that staging work to merge the smokestacks has begun.

"As a 17-year citizen of the city of Alexandria and the mother of two school-aged children, I am pleased that we are moving forward with this solution," Bolton said, adding it's the "right thing to do."

City officials were adamant that the fight will go on.

"We will continue to do everything to protect the health of our citizens and families despite Mirant's obvious disregard for the law and the health of our community," Euille said.