BUSINESS

IPL plant still No. 1 polluter in Indy, EPA says

By John Russell
john.russell@indystar.com

The Harding Street power plant, whose towering smokestacks can be seen for miles, is keeping its title as No. 1 toxic industrial polluter in Marion County for another year.

New figures from the Environmental Protection Agency show the 55-year-old plant released more than 1.6 million pounds of toxic pollutants into the air, land and water in 2012.

The plant has been the largest industrial toxic polluter in Marion County for at least 13 straight years, according to the Sierra Club, a longtime critic of the plant.

The most recent figures show the plant was responsible for 88 percent of the toxic industrial pollution released in Marion County even though its owner, Indianapolis Power & Light Co., has spent more than $280 million in emissions controls since 2000.

The utility plans to spend an additional $500 million on environmental upgrades at its Harding Street and Petersburg plants, its website says, which will reduce mercury emissions by about 85 percent.

The federal government’s Toxic Release Inventory tracks more than 650 toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Companies that release the pollutants are required to submit the information to the EPA.

The Sierra Club and other environmental and neighborhood groups have been pushing to close the Harding Street plant for years, saying it affects the health of thousands of people who live in the nearby low-income neighborhoods. They say the plant could be replaced with cleaner sources of energy, such as solar panels and windmills.

“It’s time for IPL to become a good neighbor, to stop burning coal in Marion County by 2020 and replace the Harding Street plant with clean, renewable energy,” Jodi Perras, Indiana representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, said in a statement.

IPL officials have said those alternatives wouldn't be cost-effective and would end up costing ratepayers much more.

They also noted that IPL ranks eighth in the country for its use of wind-generated energy and seventh in the central part of the country for its use of solar power.

Star reporter Tony Cook contributed to this article. Call Star reporter John Russell at (317) 444-6283 and follow him on Twitter @johnrussell99