Pierce Township may be classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as meeting federal sulfur dioxide levels as the W.C. Beckjord Power Station in New Richmond is completely closed.

Pierce Township may be classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as meeting federal sulfur dioxide levels as the W.C. Beckjord Power Station in New Richmond is completely closed.
By Kelly Doran
Sun staff

Pierce Township may be recognized as having acceptable sulfur dioxide air quality after the W.C. Beckjord Station in New Richmond closed.

Because Beckjord is closed permanently, the State of Ohio plans to ask the United States Environmental Protection Agency to recognize the air quality in Pierce Township as meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards, said Dina Pierce, Ohio EPA spokesperson.

Representatives from the Ohio EPA held a public hearing in Pierce Township on April 16 to hear from citizens.

It is important not to be classified as non-attainment for pollutants, said Erica Fetty, environmental specialist on air pollution control.

Changing the township’s status can also be beneficial because sometimes people look into air quality before moving, said Darla Peele, environmental public information officer.

This proposal is just for Ohio, Fetty said. Kentucky has its own environmental department.

Duke Energy retired unit 1 in 2012, units 2 and 3 in 2013, unit 4 in early 2014 and units 5 and 6 on Sept. 1, 2014, according to a press release.

Duke decided to close the plant because the EPA was expected to implement environmental regulations that would require costly equipment upgrades and retrofits to Beckjord, according to the release.

“Due to the age and physical limitations of the Beckjord facility, the anticipated emissions regulations would require hundreds of millions of dollars – to which our customers would be exposed – to bring the plant into compliance,” the release states.

In addition, Duke anticipated a lower plant usage in the future, according to the release.

Four oil-fired combustion turbines, utilized mainly to generate power during times of high electricity usage, closed on Dec. 31, 2014, said Tammie McGee, corporate media relations for Duke Energy.

Sulfur dioxide air quality is measured as parts per billion with a per-hour limit, Pierce said. Anything over 75 ppb is unacceptable.

In 2012, Pierce Township had 85 ppb, but after the plant closed in 2014 it went down to 61 ppb, Pierce said.

“For an area to be designated as achieving (attaining) the federal air quality standard, three years of air monitoring data is averaged. The closure of Beckjord dropped SO2 emissions low enough that the average from 2012-2014 fell to 72 ppb, so it now meets the standard,” Pierce said in an email.

Pierce believes that 2015 will show even lower sulfur dioxide levels because there will be zero emissions from Beckjord.

While Beckjord was the only major source of sulfur dioxide in the area, the Ohio EPA must also show how Pierce Township can maintain the air quality at acceptable levels in the proposal, Pierce said.

The only other sources of sulfur dioxide in the area are automobiles and diesel engines, which are not significant enough to cause problems, Pierce said.

“We believe we can maintain the air quality,” Pierce said.

Now that the Ohio EPA has held the public hearing, representatives will respond to any comments made, then update any information in the draft proposal and send it to the U.S. EPA, said Peele.

The U.S. EPA will review the proposal and then will decide whether to agree or disagree. There are not likely to be any issues, Peele said. If the U.S. EPA agrees, the new status will be put in the federal register.

If another plant ever wanted to open, the company would be required to say how much sulfur dioxide the plant is expected to emit. If it would make the sulfur dioxide ppb greater than 75, the company would not be allowed to establish in the area, Pierce said.