Megan Wittman, megan.wittman@sierraclub.org
Omaha, NE – This evening, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) will hold a public hearing on the Omaha Public Power District - North Omaha Station (NOS) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit reissuance.
OPPD had originally planned to retire three NOS units and fuel-switch two units from burning coal to gas-fired operations by the end of 2023. In August 2022, however, OPPD reneged on that commitment to final closure and cessation of burning at NOS. OPPD has neglected to plan properly to come into compliance with multiple regulations, and has furthermore not been held accountable by NDEE.
North Omaha residents and others in the Omaha and OPPD service territory will testify, on the record, their concerns about the three additional years of burning coal at NOS, and the negative environmental, economic, and public health impacts.
“If OPPD believes that they must burn coal for three more years, or however many years, then they must be held responsible for the damage to our environment and public health that their decision will have on our communities. This permit is just NDEE and OPPD punting their responsibility to Nebraskans – on the third down, no less – because they would rather play defense than do the right thing for our environment, economy, and public health,” said John Crabtree, Nebraska Campaign Representative, Beyond Coal Campaign.
“To extend the life of toxic coal plants that directly impact our environment and communal health after promising to retire them is already an abuse of Nebraskans’ trust. But to fail to hold OPPD accountable is an even greater abuse. As the only public power state in the country, our utilities should be putting Nebraskans’ interests first. Instead, our well-being is being sold out for OPPD’s profit margins. NDEE is long overdue in keeping OPPD responsible,” said Graham Jordison, Senior Organizing Representative, Beyond Coal Campaign.
###
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.