N.J. targets pollution from Pa. plant

Environmentalists claim it’s the major source of pollution in northwestern New Jersey.

This week, federal officials have now accepted the Garden State’s petition to force a Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant to reduce its emissions.

Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection, said the plant just across Delaware River in Portland, Pa., emits 30,000 tons of sulfur dioxide a year. He said that’s as much as all of New Jersey’s seven coal-fired power plants combined.

The state is asking that the plant be required to cut those emissions by 81 percent over three years.

“They’re also putting out hydrochloric acid and lead and mercury. All of these things can result in some severe health issues,” said Ragonese. “So we think that will help control those health issues or ease them a bit for some folks who are suffering.”

Ragonese said installing pollution controls like those already in use at New Jersey power plants will allow the company to become a good environmental neighbor while still staying in business.