Hours after the lawsuit was filed, IPL announced their compliance with EPA’s allegations and said that they would reduce their emissions at the Petersburg plant. Following this, EPA announced that Morgan County’s air quality is officially within federal standards.
The lawsuit has sparked interest on how the switch from coal to natural gas will have a significant effect on the air quality and the health of the surrounding community in Indianapolis. Coal-fired power plants such as IPL have been contributing to a nationwide issue of air pollution.
In the past decade, coal has been the fastest-growing energy source in the world. According to endcoal.org, between the years 2001 and 2010, the world consumption of coal increased by 45%.
Kerwin Olson of Citizens Action Coalition and Janet McCabe of IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute spoke out about the murkiness of government regulation for power plants and how that can affect not only the state but the country in terms of pollution and human health and enforcement for these companies.
