Whether you think global warming is a hoax or not, things like this kind of take the wind out of the sails of utopian notions against government regulation to help protect the environment and for the market and big business to somehow do it out of the goodness of their hearts...
Quote:
$4.6 billion settlement in power plant air pollution case
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In the largest environmental settlement in Justice Department history, American Electric Power has agreed to install $4.6 billion in equipment to sharply reduce emissions at coal-fired power plants in five states, sources said . . .
Justice prosecutors brought the case on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, a dozen environmental groups and the plaintiff states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts . . .
Environmental scientists have linked emissions from coal-fired power plants to forest degradation, waterway damage and reservoir contamination.
Medical authorities report detrimental health effects on asthma sufferers, the elderly and children.
Based in Columbus, Ohio, AEP provides electric power to five million customers in 11 states, according to its Web site. The company is ranked 192 on the "Fortune 500" list of corporations, on annual revenues of $12.6 billion.
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Prolly they just didn't have the funds to follow the law and figured, eh, what the heck -- it's only children, the elderly, asthma sufferers, and the forests and waterways of a dozen or so states, let's just go ahead and "illegally release massive amounts of air pollutants for years."
Yeah, big business is on our side when it comes to the environment! You betcha!
Steve