Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL) reached an agreement with the United States government to resolve its alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. The deal will also settle the company’s alleged violation of the laws of the State of Indiana.
IPL is a utility company providing electric service to more than 500,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in Indiana. It is the owner and operator of the Petersburg Generating Station. It is a subsidiary of AES Corporation (NYSE: AES), one of the world’s leading electric power companies.
Alleged violations of IPL
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management conducted investigations into the Petersburg Generating Station in 2008, 2015, and 2016.
After the investigations, the regulators found that IPL violated the Clean Air Act and related Indiana laws due to the following:
- Failure to obtain a permit and to install controls as required by the Prevention of Significant Deterioration provision and the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP).
- Emissions were in excess of opacity standards under the New Source Performance Standards for Fossil-Fuel-Fired Steam Generators, Subpart D, the Indiana SIP, and the Petersburg Generating Station’s Title V Operating Permit.
Details of the settlement
The settlement agreement, which is included in a Consent Decree, requires IPL to reduce its plant’s emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM), and sulfuric acid mist (H2SO4).
