What GreenLaw Does to prevent air pollution

Two to three million people die every year of illnesses related to air pollution – one of the 10 main causes of death on the planet. In Georgia, more than half of our state population lives in areas where it is unsafe to breathe because of high levels of smog and other harmful pollutants. In fact, the metropolitan Atlanta area has never met the federally mandated air quality standards enacted over thirty years ago and, in 2007, was named the Asthma Capital of the Nation by the Asthma and Allegery Foundation of America. The American Lung Association ranks Atlanta 25th in its ranking of the 25 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities.

Georgia has two of the top three dirtiest fossil-fuel electric plants in the U.S. Georgia’s booming population creates increasing demand for electricity and coal-fired plants are being proposed across the country, including here in Georgia. The state continues to be lax in requiring existing and new power plants to comply with standards under the Clean Air Act. Adding insult to injury, the state has put little effort into encouraging the development of renewable sources of energy. As a result, almost all of our state electricity comes from dirty coal plants and dangerous nuclear reactors with few prospects for meaningful change.

In response to these serious concerns, GreenLaw launched The Georgia Clean Air Project in November 2000. The project aims to clean up the dirtiest coal-fired power plants, prevent construction of new coal-fired power plants and encourage the development of renewable energy in Georgia. By forcing industrial polluters to pay for the environmental costs of energy production, we can create a cost-competitive market for renewable energy.

Since its inception, the Georgia Clean Air Project has:

• Filed a lawsuit challenging a permit issued to build a coal-fired power plant in Early County, the first such plant in over 20 years, to be located in a low-income county with the 11th highest air pollution emissions in the state.
   
• Launched a landmark case to reduce emissions from two of the dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the nation – located here in Georgia.
   
• Prevented a major industrial facility, located in the metro-Atlanta nonattainment area, from increasing emissions of sulfur dioxide without any public input and in violation of other requirements that do not allow for increases of emissions in areas that are not meeting health-based air quality standards.
   
• Investigated citizen reports of dichlorobenzene emissions in close proximity to a playground. Dichlorobenzene is a Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) and known carcinogen. GreenLaw was able to have expert review of monitoring data to ensure that the community was not at risk.
   
• Filed comments challenging a fiberglass plant that seeks to expand its emissions in a predominantly African-American community. The plant seeks to expand its emissions without using technologies that are required at similar plants in other states.
   
• Established new precedent to reduce the amount of emissions from power plants that has already resulted in the reduction of more than 1,200 tons of smog-causing pollutants.
   
• Established legal precedent that will prevent utilities across the country from building new plants until their existing plants fully comply with existing CAA health-based standards.
   
• Prevented the operation of old dirty diesel fired combustion turbines during the summer when air quality is most hazardous.
   
• Supported the development of transportation options, renewable energy sources, and conservation efforts such as green buildings to reduce energy demands while promoting economic growth

WHY WHAT WE DO MATTERS

Currently, 210,000 or 11% of Georgia's children have asthma, according to the Mothers and Others for Clean Air Partners. In other words, one in six (16%) Georgia households with children have a child with asthma. These statistics are greater now than they were a few years ago. For instance, data compiled between 2000 and 2002 by the American Lung Association showed that there were 121,733 pediatric asthma cases reported in Georgia.

The health of Georgia’s citizens is also threatened by the layer of smog that reduces visibility and creates an unpleasant haze. Ozone "continues to be the most pervasive air pollutant." Ground level ozone, also known as smog,” poses serious risk to human health. It can cause acute respiratory ailments, aggravate or cause asthma, decrease lung capacity by 15 to 20 percent, weaken the immune system and cause birth defects. The inhalation of fine particles in smog has been linked to increased incidence of heartbeat irregularities and premature death. When smog is at its highest levels in the summer months, children playing outside breathe 50 percent more air per pound of body weight than adults. The American Lung Association State of the Air Report 2007 gave Fulton County (metro Atlanta) an F for it Ozone Grade.

Georgians also have a responsibility to reduce emissions that cause global warming. Pollution from Georgia and the surrounding southern states contributes significantly to global warming. For example, if the global warming emissions of eight southern states were considered one country, they would rank 5th in the world, ahead of India and Germany. Just Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee alone would rank 7th in the world. Georgia power plants’ emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, increased by 8.4 million tons in one year, the largest increase of any state.

GreenLaw uses the tools provided by Congress when it enacted the federal Clean Air Act, which was passed to protect public health and the environment. GreenLaw gives Georgia’s air and those who breath it their day in court by requiring polluters to obey the law.