Sierra Club sues Wisconsin, UW on clean air

From The Badger Herald: by Joanna Pliner

The state of Wisconsin — and the University of Wisconsin in particular — could face litigation for violating the federal Clean Air Act.

The Sierra Club, an international environmental organization, held a teleconference and issued a statement Monday announcing its intent to sue the two parties.

According to Jennifer Feyerherm, coordinator for the Sierra Club’s Wisconsin Clean Energy Campaign, coal power plants are the largest sources of soot and fine particulate matter in the air. The Sierra Club’s case against the state of Wisconsin and the university focuses on UW’s Charter Street Heating Plant and the state’s Capitol Heat and Power plant, which both use coal to produce energy.

David Bender of Garvey McNeil & McGillivray, S.C., the law firm representing the Sierra Club, said the environmental organization discovered numerous modifications made to the boilers at the aforementioned coal power plants. Since the Charter and Capitol power plants did not receive permits to make those modifications, he added, the Sierra Club alleged that the plants violated the Clean Air Act.

Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club’s Midwest Clean Energy Campaign, said UW and the state need to “step up” to put Wisconsin on track for “cleaner air and a better future.”