The coal-fired power plant industry is an EPA national enforcement priority. Since 1999, EPA has pursued a coordinated, integrated compliance and enforcement strategy to address Clean Air Act (CAA) New Source Review compliance issues at the nation's coal-fired power plants. Many of these cases have resulted in settlements or are being argued in court.

Coal-Fired Power Plant Lawsuits

On November 3, 1999, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced the filing of civil complaints against seven electric utility companies operating coal-fired power plants in the Midwest and Southeast, charging that their plants illegally released massive amounts of air pollutants over a period of several years and contributed some of the most severe environmental problems facing the United States today. The companies involved are American Electric Power Company, Cinergy, FirstEnergy, Illinois Power, Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company, Southern Company and Tampa Electric Company. In separate but related actions, EPA issued Notices of Violations to these same companies, plus an administrative order against the Tennessee Valley Authority. Perhaps the most comprehensive, coordinated enforcement effort under the Clean Air Act to date, the complaints, Notices of Violation and administrative order cover 32 plants located in 10 states. 

Coal-Fired Power Plant Settlement

• Duke Energy Corporation (9/10/15)
• Interstate Power and Light Company (7/15/15)
• Four Corners Power Plant (6/24/15)
• Consumers Energy (09/16/14)
• Minnesota Power (07/16/14)
• Wisconsin Power and Light (04/22/13)
• Dominion Energy, Inc. (04/01/13)
• Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Settlement (01/04/13)
• Louisiana Generating Settlement (11/21/12)
• Dairyland Power Cooperative Settlement (06/29/12)
• Tennessee Valley Authority Clean Air Act Settlement (04/14/11)
• Northern Indiana Public Service Company Air Act Settlement (01/13/11)
• Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. (07/23/10)
• American Municipal Power (05/18/10)
• Westar Energy, Inc. Settlement (01/25/10)
• Ohio Edison Company, W.H. Sammis Power Station, Clean Air Act Settlement (08/11/09)
• Kentucky Utilities Company (02/03/09)
• Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (8/12/08)
• American Electric Power Service Corporation Settlement (10/09/07)
• East Kentucky Power Cooperative (07/2/07)
• Nevada Power Company (06/13/07)
• Alabama Power Company Settlement (04/25/06)
• Minnkota Power Cooperative and Square Butte Electric Cooperative Settlement (04/24/06)
• Illinois Power Company and Dynegy Midwest Generation Settlement (03/07/05)
• South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) Settlement (03/16/04)
• Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Company (SIGECO) Settlement (06/06/03)
• Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO) Settlement (04/29/03)
• Virgina Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) Settlement (04/17/03)
• ALCOA, Inc. Settlement (03/27/03)
• PSEG Fossil L.LC. Civil Judicial Settlement (01/24/02)
• Tampa Electric Company (TECO) Settlement (02/19/00)