Connecticut
Sooty Six - Power Plants
History of the Sooty Six Campaign:
In 1977, Congress amended the Clean Air Act to set standards for levels of toxic emissions that power plants could release. But because the "Sooty Six" (Connecticut's oldest and dirtiest coal and oil burning power plants) were built long before those regulations, they were exempt or "grandfathered" from clean-up regulations. And hence an estimated 134 pounds of mercury and 8,900 tons of excess sulfur dioxide spewed from these power plants each year. The mercury contaminated our waters, harming our children, while the sulfur dioxide triggered thousands of asthma attacks throughout the state and cut short many lives. However this is no longer allowed thanks to the efforts led by the CT Coalition for Clean Air, a group of close to 150 organizations, whose membership totaled over one half million Connecticut residents.
Years One and Two; The Beginning:
In 1998 electric deregulation began in Connecticut, raising the specter of more pollution and more power plants in a state where 97% of the residents were already breathing seriously unhealthy air. The Connecticut Children's Medical Center found that asthma rates among schoolchildren in New Haven had increased 50% between 1994 and 1998. And, in the neighborhoods surrounding the Bridgeport Harbor coal power plant, 21% of surveyed households had children diagnosed with asthma. In this same year the Toxics Action Center and Clean Water Action began the outreach that would lead to the CT Coalition for Clean Air. The coalition began by assisting community groups in the vicinity of what were then only the "Filthy Five" (the sixth power plant was reopened in 2001 in Milford and together the six plants became the "Sooty Six").
The CT Coalition for Clean Air also began to expand and to educate as many people as possible through fact sheets and media outreach. As time passed the force of the coalition grew. During the second year alone, canvassers going from house to house educated 36,000 Connecticut citizens about the issue and thousands of individuals wrote letters to Governor Rowland and other Connecticut decision makers. That year 45 Connecticut legislators co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that would have cleaned up the state's dirtiest power plants. The House passed it, but the Energy and Technology Committee later killed the bill.
However, not only did this fail to kill the momentum of the campaign, but it reinvigorated the citizen supporters. The Sooty Six campaign spread to more areas and grew more diverse. One statement read, "We are doctors, carpenters, clergy and graphic designers. We are Republicans, greens, Democrats and independents. We are sons, grandparents, cousins, sisters, brothers, neighbors, and moms & dads."
The Reverend Thomas Carr, pastor of the First Baptist Church in West Hartford and a founder of the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network, recognized how unique the coming together of different people was. The power of the campaign rested in the fact that a diverse group of individuals were willingness to set aside their varied agendas in order to fight for a common goal. Read more about Reverend Carr's spiritual perspectives and memories of the campaign.
Year Three; Support Grows:
Citizen involvement increased, with four more towns passing resolutions in support of the campaign's goals. It seemed as if the legislature were ready to pass this bill, and on the day of the vote in the Senate chambers, proponents were so confident of victory that the Senate President Pro Tempore guaranteed passage of the bill before the vote. Unfortunately, backroom deals pushed through a crippling amendment, and later the House would refuse to even consider a vote. Stepping into this situation, then-Governor Rowland attempted to co-opt the issue by issuing an executive order directing DEP to create regulations to reduce nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions from all major stationary sources in Connecticut.
Year Four; Opposition Grows:
The state DEP drafted and released power plant pollution regulations in response to the Governor's executive order, but instead of being a victory, activists were deeply disappointed. Industry pressure had resulted in a huge loophole: "pollution trading," where some plants don't have to reduce their pollution if others make deeper cuts.
Unfortunately, the trading scheme as unveiled by the DEP would have actually prevented the plants from making any significant reductions. According to David Shoengold, at MSB Energy Associates, "If trading is allowed as an option for moving from 0.5 to 0.3 lbs per MMBTU of SO2, the availability of excess SO2 allowances in Connecticut and the immediate surrounding area means that no additional clean up need occur beyond the 0.5 pound limit. Rather than giving up plant-by-plant emission reductions for greater emission reductions at nearby plants, the trading provision actually gives up plant-by-plant emission reductions for no emission reductions."
The "Sooty Six" issue, one of the hottest public issues in CT the previous year, remained prominent and triggered a counter-media and information campaign. The powerful Connecticut Business & Industry Association claimed that the "Sooty Six" legislation would endanger the electricity supply, putting CT at risk of blackouts, and drive up costs. Despite strong opposition and heavily funded lobbying (CBIA spent the most money of any organization on lobbying in the state that year), both the House and the Senate passed the Clean Air Bill and defeated the weakening amendments pushed by the power plant owners.
Immediately following the landslide vote, the Governor announced he would sign the bill into law. Things were looking good for the CT Coalition for Clean Air. But after an outraged response from well-connected special interests, the Governor retracted his statement and vetoed the bill!
Year Five- 2002; Victory!!!
There was once again a statewide education effort, with concerned citizens petitioning, calling, and writing letters to their representatives; many people went door-to-door informing their neighbors. The CT Coalition for Clean Air arranged events like "Lobby Days," where ordinary citizens took the time out of their busy schedules to go and speak directly to legislators. Newspapers, radio, and television picked up the stories like never before. After February not a week passed where the "Sooty Six" were not getting some kind of coverage. The debate over the issue had largely ended in the state legislature and the bill passed again with ease.
Because of the unrelenting efforts of so many people for so long, Governor Rowland finally signed the bill. The legislation would not only force all of the "Sooty Six" plants to meet modern standards, without pollution trading, but it also set a national precedent for reducing sulfur dioxide emissions. The following year, after PSEG purchased the Bridgeport Harbor coal plant, PSEG and Clean Water Action negotiated an agreement to reduce mercury pollution from CT power plants by 90% and passed a law to this effect.
This was the largest environmental campaign on this scale in recent memory, and since then environmental groups such as Clean Water Action have gained a much larger voice. Through five grueling years of fighting false information and strong opposition, a demand grew "until it was impossible for decision-makers not to follow the lead of the people." An organized and engaged public can win against even the biggest industries, and we face even larger battles in the years ahead.
