Agreement to Close Entergy's Polluting Power Plants is Finalized

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Today, Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association’s settlement with Entergy Arkansas to close two massive coal plants and a gas plant and build solar power was finalized by a judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. The agreement to close the Independence and White Bluff coal plants and Lake Catherine gas plant by 2030 concludes years of litigation over air emissions between the utility and the environmental groups, although it was delayed when Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge attempted to intervene in the legal proceeding in December 2018. With today’s action by the federal court, closure of the two coal plants can proceed with certainty, which will save Arkansas electric ratepayers $2 billion through the avoided investment of commonly-used pollution controls that would have been required to continue operating the plants

The original settlement resolves several claims by environmental groups alleging Entergy illegally modified the White Bluff and Independence coal plants without permits and increased emissions, in violation of the Clean Air Act. The settlement also resolves multiple challenges by Entergy and the environmental groups to federal and state Clean Air Act regulations intended to improve the air in national parks, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges across Arkansas and throughout the region. 

These plants rank sixth (White Bluff) and twelfth (Independence) in harmful sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions out of the hundreds of power plants across the United States. The coal plants have also been linked to increased levels of ozone smog, harming communities in St. Louis and Memphis. This settlement turbocharges renewable energy growth in Arkansas, as Entergy agreed to bring 800MW of affordable renewable energy to the Arkansas Public Service Commission for approval no later than 2027, a process that is already underway. 

Settlement documents can be found here and here. 

Statement by Glen Hooks, Sierra Club’s Arkansas Chapter Director:

“The settlement finalized today shows that our agreement to close massive polluting power plants is a win, win, win for Arkansans. The agreement will save utility customers up to $2 billion, reduce and eventually eliminate air pollution from two of the dirtiest coal plants in the country, and boost our economy with new renewable energy investments.

“The Independence and White Bluff coal plants are two of the largest unscrubbed coal plants in the nation. Their closures will combine to prevent 192 deaths, 111 heart attacks, and 1,249 asthma attacks each year. I encourage Entergy Arkansas’ CEO, Laura Landreaux, to accelerate the closure of these plants because it will save lives. Replacing electric capacity with renewable energy and energy efficiency is the cleanest, safest and most affordable way for Entergy Arkansas to power its customers.”  

Statement by Stephanie Kodish, Clean Air & Climate Programs Director & Counsel for the National Parks Conservation Association:

“Today’s decision is a win for clean air and our environment. For too long, Arkansas’ White Bluff and Independence coal plants have spewed pollution into surrounding communities and public lands like the Buffalo National River and Caney Creek Wilderness, while contributing to climate change. Our settlement agreement will help right those wrongs, preventing huge amounts of pollution from dirtying the air we breathe and increasing renewable energy resources to support local economies. As climate change is the number one threat facing our communities and national parks, now is the time to transition to clean energy in a just and equitable manner to combat the climate crisis and provide a safer future for people and our parks.”

Attorneys George Hays and Naomi Melver represented Sierra Club and Earthjustice represented NPCA in these cases.