Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

State renews permit for Bridgeport Harbor Station Coal Plant

  • Environment
  • by Neena Satija
  • September 14, 2012
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

After receiving a record number of comments from the public, the state has renewed the operating permit for Connecticut’s lone coal-fired power plant in Bridgeport.

Environmental advocates from groups such as the Sierra Club, the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and the Bridgeport-based Healthy Connecticut Alliance had worked for months to bring more than 150 people to a public hearing on the issue in May to support local businesses in calling for the plant’s closure.

But no one was surprised that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection renewed the permit. The agency only has the power to determine whether the plant – operated by the New-Jersey based company PSEG — follows all state and federal rules.

DEEP’s permit renewal now goes to the federal Environmental Protection Agency for a final review. Environmental advocates say they plan to be in touch with the EPA about their concerns, including high rates of child asthma and pollution in Bridgeport and Fairfield County.

But the market may end up making the final decision.

“It’s likely that economics is going to make this plant obsolete,” said Charles Rothenberger, an attorney who represents the Connecticut Fund for the Environment. Tightened regulations on emissions from coal plants, along with rock-bottom natural gas prices, have caused PSEG to significantly scale back activity at the plant. During the six months this year for which data was available, the plant operated a total of 333 hours – or less than 14 days.

Bridgeport’s Mayor Bill Finch, in an interview earlier this year, said the city and PSEG are working together with the knowledge that the coal plant will “be transitioned at some point.”

At the same time, he cautioned, PSEG is one of the biggest contributors in property taxes to the city. “Those funds are critical to turning around our school system. The poor children of the city are being educated with those $5 million in taxes.”

The EPA has 45 days to review the permit renewal and ask for any changes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neena Satija

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Opposed by GOP, Lamont campaigns for climate initiative
by Mark Pazniokas

In promoting the Transportation and Climate Initiative, Lamont is working to succeed where he failed two years ago on tolls.

Senate sends data center incentives and town aid pledge bills to Lamont’s desk
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Senate endorsed an omnibus fiscal bill that lays the groundwork for a major boost in PILOT aid to many municipalities.

Lamont’s budget keeps transportation program afloat through 2026 with new truck fee
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Gov. Ned Lamont's new budget would keep Connecticut's transportation program solvent through 2026 with a new fee on trucks.

CT has big plans for tackling climate change. Now it has to make them happen.
by Jan Ellen Spiegel

Gov. Ned Lamont wants to expand the role of the Connecticut Green Bank to include funding for climate change projects.

New Haven lawmaker would ban exclusionary beach policies
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A New Haven lawmaker wants to stop municipalities from imposing exorbitant fees that restrict many out-of-towners from using their beaches.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion A healthcare system too broken to fix
by Sosena Kedebe MD

On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of me that took the news with a deep concern. Why you might ask?

Opinion The Connecticut Juvenile Training School and the lie that built it
by Colleen Shaddox 

Sitting in the paddy wagon, I was afraid – maybe apprehensive was a better word, since I rightly suspected that white privilege would guarantee me good treatment.  Still, I said a prayer of thanksgiving. After years of advocating for people in our carceral system, I was given a chance to develop more empathy.

Opinion Data on race, ethnicity and language is critical to making real healthcare progress
by Vicki Veltri, Tekisha Everette and Matt McDermott.

There are significant disparities in health status based upon race, ethnicity, and other factors that deprive many Connecticut residents of an equal opportunity to enjoy good health and well-being. That some Connecticut residents live without proper treatment of illness and injury due to disparities in health care access, affordability, and outcomes based upon race, ethnicity, and language (REL) is self-evident to many but not to all.

Opinion SB 1018: Connecticut’s effort to increase prosecutorial accountability and why it will not work
by Olivia Louthen

Senate Bill 1018 does not solve Connecticut’s largest criminal justice problem: outcomes for crime victims and defendants vary based on zip codes because judicial districts operate independently of one another.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO