WE Energies is a large Midwestern coal-fired electric utility. The settlement covers five Wisconsin Electric plants, four in Wisconsin and one in Michigan, consisting of 23 electricity generating units. These five plants emitted over 147,000 tons of SO2 and NOx in 2001. Wisconsin Electric Power Company will spend up to $600 million to reduce 72,000 tons per year of SO2 and 32,000 tons per year of NOx and improve its control of particulate matter (PM) from each of the plants included in the settlement. The company also will pay a $3.2 million civil penalty ($3.1 million to USEPA and $100,000 to the State of Michigan, and spend at least $20 million to finance an environmental mitigation project demonstrating a new technology to significantly reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The settlement will achieve reductions through the installation of new pollution control equipment, the upgrading of existing pollution controls on several of the units in the Wisconsin Electric system, and through the retirement of some older units. This technology is required to be installed or upgraded on specified units in the Wisconsin Electric system.
Amendment is for Milwaukee facility.