On Thursday, June 6th, the District Department of Environment
(DDOE) issued a permit to the Architect of the Capitol (AOC)
allowing the Capitol Power Plant (CPP) to construct a cogeneration system.
The permit sets emission caps (notably NOx and SO2) until the facility is
completed at 2007-2008 levels — when coal accounted for 50 % and rejects the
community's and the Sierra Club's demands for a firm endpoint to coal burning
at the plant.
The CPP is already DC’s largest emitter of emissions, but the
DDOE permit allows the CPP to burn coal until and 18 months after the co-generation
facility is completed. Coal burning flies in the face of Mayor Gray’s recently
announced Sustainable DC Initiative which calls for a 50% reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions by 2032. That’s unlikely to happen as long as the CPP
burns coal. In an attempt to pacify
residents, the Mayor’s office issued a press release announcing “The Ban on
Combustion of Coal Act of 2013” which essentially mirrors the DDOE permit. The press
release notes that “The facility’s ability to restrict coal usage … is entirely
dependent upon completion of the cogeneration project and achievement of the
commercial operation date.” Now the AOC
needs to go to Congress to secure funds for the co-generation plant – a process
that could result in DC residents breathing high levels of coal emissions for
several more years.
