On April 27, 2018, DTE Energy Company (DTE) disclosed to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (Michigan EGLE) a 10 day mercury emission exceedance at Unit 9, a coal-fired boiler at the Trenton Channel Power Plant. The mercury emission exceedance was in violation of National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units at 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart UUUUU (also known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS). Michigan EGLE communicated these exceedances to EPA on May 16, 2018, after determining it was not delegated the authority to enforce NESHAP Subpart UUUUU. EPA issued a Finding of Violation (FOV) to DTE Trenton on September 12, 2018.
To resolve the allegations, EPA and DTE Trenton are concurrently entering into an Administrative Consent Order (ACO and a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO). The ACO requires that DTE implement an Elevated Mercury Emissions Response Plan at the Trenton facility to avoid future exceedances and to address the violations set forth in the FOV. The plan must be incorporated into the facility's Title V operating permit. The CAFO requires that DTE Trenton pay a civil penalty of $25,133 and perform a SEP with a total cost of $95,000.