New Haven Independent

The New Haven Harbor Plant saw a 91 percent reduction between 2000 and 2007 in sulfur dioxide emissions. Such emissions, in the form of tiny particles of soot, can trigger asthma attacks and other health problems. Environmental activists announced the new emission data for the Sooty Six power plants, including New Haven’s, over the weekend: (Click here to read a news release.)

Local experts welcomed the good news, but said New Haveners have yet to recover from the consequences of breathing foul air.

In a search to find any real-world impacts of the emissions reduction, this reporter called the city’s health department and spoke with Ashika Brinkley, who directs the city’s Asthma Initiative Project. She said the trend for asthma is generally up: The U.S. rate rose from 7.3 percent to 8.5 percent from 2000 to 2006, while the Connecticut rate rose from 7.8 percent to 9.3 percent. Over the same time period, New Haven’s asthma rates have remained about level, which is to say, 8.8 percent for children and 7.9 percent for adults, according to the Asthma in Connecticut 2008 surveillance report.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not a good thing” that soot pollution is down dramatically, Brinkley said. She said there’s often more of a lag in seeing health improvements than the time that has elapsed so far. And, of course, there are many other sources of air pollution in New Haven besides the now-cleaner power plant.

The EPA data just released compares emissions from 1998 to 2000 with those from 2005 to 2007.

New Haven’s soot emissions dropped a dramatic 91 percent, from 10,867 tons of sulfur dioxide per year in 1998 to 2000, to 975 tons per year from 2005 to 2007. On average, the state’s “Sooty Six” power plants saw an 86 percent reduction in SO2 emissions. Milford’s plant recorded an astounding 99.9 percent reduction.

How did they do it?

Brooke Suter, who served as co-chair of the Sooty Six campaign (before going on to work on clean air issues at the national level), pointed to three reasons for success: “The reductions are a combination of lesser usage, because most of the plants are now peaking plants [used only at times of greatest energy demand]; switching from a higher sulfur oil to a lower sulfur oil; and also, scrubbers.”

She said the six plants were grandfathered in under the Clean Air Act Amendments in 1977, meaning they didn’t have to meet the new, stricter clean air standards, because it was assumed they would be closed down in the near future. The campaign lasted from December 1997 to 2002, and organized mainly in the power plant towns of New Haven, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Middletown, Montville and Milford, but also included organizing state-wide about the health impacts of soot pollution. Most plants were oil-powered, but the one in Bridgeport was coal-powered. Suter said an additional benefit of the organizing was the agreement to reduce mercury pollution (a residue of burning coal) by 90 percent — a commitment that was incorporated into a bill the legislature passed this year to cover mercury pollution statewide.