EPA slaps fines against two area power plants
Tuesday, July 6, 1999 | 11:13 a.m.
The Environmental Protection Agency continued its battle to clear the pollution from the Las Vegas Valley's air by collecting a $200,000 fine from Nevada Cogeneration Associates.
The company had failed to install air pollution control equipment on time at its two power plants, 18 miles north and 17 miles northeast of the valley, the EPA's Regional Air Division Director Dave Howekamp said.
The Justice Department on behalf of the EPA filed suit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas during February. The lawsuit sought up to $230 million in penalties against the company for Clean Air Act violations.
The case ended Thursday with a court filing that resolved the EPA's claim against Nevada Cogeneration.
The case focused on the company's failure to install devices that reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from gas-fired turbines and heat recovery boilers.
The EPA had reached an agreement with the company in 1997. The agency recently worked out details to bring the company into compliance with the Clean Air Act. The company has installed the necessary control devices at its two plants.
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