The finalized agreement on the Charter Street coal plant provides a reasonable timeline for regular decreases in emissions, meaning the plant can no longer reasonably stonewall and subvert efforts to clean up local air.
The Charter Street plant has long been under scrutiny, but not until Nov. 7 has the university been forced to take any action.
This agreement will hopefully end the litigation between the state, the Sierra Club and UW-Madison and help make Madison a cleaner city.
The plant is required to decrease emissions by 15 percent between Jan. 1, 2008 and April 30, 2008 and another 15 percent the next year. The plant needs to cut the emissions according to the deadlines, or it risks being completely shut down.
The requirements for decreasing levels of emissions should be feasible for the plant to achieve. Even though the parties to the agreement have the option to extend deadlines by giving the Sierra Club advance notice, it would be an inexcusable cop-out to do so.
The university should want to decrease emissions at the plant for the sake of the environment just as much as the Sierra Club - the energy the plant provides is necessary for the university, but there are alternative sources of energy the university can rely on.
According to Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor for facilities at UW-Madison, the decrease in emissions will add $1-3 million to university expenses. Although this may seem costly, it is a small price to pay for cleaner air in Madison. The long-term benefits of the $1-3 million investment will ultimately decrease the environmental costs created by its current operations.
This agreement should be the last needed to ensure the Charter Street coal plant reduces its emissions.
