A U.S. District Court judge ruled Wednesday that UW-Madison and the state of Wisconsin violated the federal Clean Air Act by expelling excess emissions from Madison's Charter Street Heating Plant during major renovations from 2001-'04.
The court determined plant administrators violated the Clean Air Act - federal legislation enacted in 1977 to reduce air pollution - while undergoing renovations on boilers, tubing, casing and sootblowers.
The Sierra Club filed a civil lawsuit in May 2007 against the university, the UW System and the State Department of Administration, which jointly own and operate the power plant located on the corner of Charter and Dayton Streets.
By law, when performing more than routine maintenance on any part of the plant's equipment, administrators are required to notify the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, obtain specific building permits and install modern pollution controls to ensure no increase in emissions.
To attain these permits, the plant would also have had to be re-assessed to ensure it followed current emissions regulations. However, plant administrators failed to apply for the permits and proceeded with renovations.
Bruce Nilles, director of the National Coal Campaign for the Sierra Club, said the organization requested the university upgrade the plant before filing the lawsuit.
We tried for two years to try and persuade the university to do the right thing and clean it up and do their part to cut air pollution here in Madison,"" he said. ""And after they continued to refuse to do so, we filed suit.""
The Charter Street Heating Plant began operation in 1959 and provides heating and cooling to a large portion of university and state buildings.
Alan Fish, UW-Madison associate vice chancellor, said the verdict serves as a good starting point for the university's efforts to cut air pollution.
""This judgment provides a framework for us to now work with the Department of Natural Resources to improve the Charter Street plant and make some investments there,"" he said. ""The fact of the matter is, if the result of this lawsuit is that it helps us get significant investment in Charter Street, it will have been worth it.""
According to Fish, the plant provides heating and cooling for about 300 buildings on campus and its central location is the most efficient and cost-effective way to provide campus with necessary utilities.
""We would not be able to heat and cool the campus if the Charter Street plant were shut down,"" he said. ""Our approach to this will be to reinvest in the Charter Street Plant and replace aging technology with much more effective technology and lower air emissions.""
The UW-Madison student branch of the Sierra Club said it is satisfied with the ruling, but stressed more work needs to be done.
""The Sierra Student Coalition along with the Sierra Club have fought for many years to have modern pollution controls installed at the Charter Plant,"" said Andy Jakubowski, a SSC member and UW-Madison senior. ""Today, I am proud that all of our hard work has not been in vain.""
According to a statement, the Sierra Club filed a second lawsuit in August 2007 against the administrators of the Charter Street Plant, alleging that the plant is also violating the Clean Water Act by dumping coal-contaminated water into Lake Monona.
The two parties will meet again Nov. 26 to discuss how quickly plant administrators will need to shut down or renovate the plant.
