ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, April 25, 1997                 TAG: 9704250045
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-6  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

POWER PLANTS IN SOUTH DRAW BLAME FOR SMOG STUDY LISTS AEP AMONG OFFENDERS

A New Jersey power company argues that its competitors, with dirtier plants, should be more heavily controlled

Tons of pollution from coal-burning power plants are fouling air hundreds of miles away, including in Atlanta and Boston, concludes a study by an environmental group and a Northeast utility.

It urged Congress to order tougher controls on such plants in the Midwest and South.

The study released Thursday found that the 50 largest electric power companies in the eastern half of the country accounted for nearly 4.5 million tons of smog-causing nitrogen oxide a year, with almost a third coming from the three largest power producers.

Atlanta-based Southern Company, the government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority and Ohio-based American Electric Power Co. accounted for nearly 1.35 million tons of nitrogen oxide emissions in 1995, the study found.

By comparison, all of New York state will have to cut its nitrogen oxide emissions to 30,400 tons a year by 2003 to meet federal air-quality health standards.

The analysis of emissions in 37 states was released by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Public Service Electric and Gas Co. of New Jersey, in conjunction with Pace University. The New Jersey company has argued strongly that utilities in the Midwest and South, which produce cheap power from coal-burning plants, should be subject to tougher emission requirements because of their impact on long-range pollution.

Southern and AEP, the two largest private utilities, did not have the dirtiest individual plants, but accounted for huge volumes of pollution.

AEP ranked seventh among the 50 utilities with 7.45 pounds of nitrogen oxide per unit of electricity. Southern was 21st with 4.28 pounds.

The TVA was not only the biggest emitter of nitrogen oxide by volume - 537,488 tons - but its fossil plants ranked right behind Tampa Electric as the dirtiest, releasing 11.15 pounds per unit of electricity produced.

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