DOJ Cuts Billion $$ Emissions Deal
A utility company has reached a pollution agreement that will be one of the largest environmental settlements in the history of the Justice Department. The deal is expected to be announced today.
CNN and the Associated Press reported that American Electric Power agreed to install $4.6 billion in equipment to cut emissions. But the New York Times put the figure at $1.6 billion, saying the larger number appeared to include projects already completed or announced.
The agreement, expected to be filed today in a federal court in Columbus, Ohio, also requires the company to pay a civil penalty of $15 million and to spend $60 million on “mitigation measures.” Such measures include alternative energy projects and the acquisition of ecologically sensitive lands.
The deal will settle a 1999 Justice Department lawsuit filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency. It contended the company modified its power plants without installing the required pollution-fighting equipment.
