Tulsa 9.12 Project Suing To Toss EPA, DEQ Settlement On Regional Haze
Tulsa 9.12 Project sues to kill air-quality settlement on planned phase-out of Oologah coal plants
By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
A lawsuit seeking to halt implementation of a controversial air-quality case settlement was filed Friday in Tulsa County District Court.
The plaintiff, a group called the Tulsa 9.12 Project, says the settlement, which involved phasing out American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma’s two coal-fired power plants at Oologah by 2026, was the result of improper actions by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and should be invalidated.
The suit alleges that DEQ violated the state’s Administrative Procedures Act by failing to file a Regional Haze State Implementation Plan in a timely fashion. This, the suit says, led to AEP-PSO’s agreeing to shutter the Oologah plants in order to comply with Regional Haze rules imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The suit says this will result in higher rates for AEP-PSO customers, including members of the Tulsa 9.12 Project.