Filthy Five threaten our state's future

By Kelly Levin and Jeanette MacMillan

You may have thought that unjust grandfather clauses ended with the Civil Rights movement. You were wrong. An injustice has plagued Connecticut industry for years, in the modern-day form of privileged exemption. This grandfather clause poses a serious environmental threat to everyone in the state, and it represents an injustice that Yale students must fight. It is the Filthy Five.

DANICA NOVGORODOFF/YH

The Filthy Five are five power plants in Connecticut not required to meet modern clean air standards. Here's a little history for you, a sordid tale of corruption and misplaced priorities that politicians like Governor John G. Rowland wish you wouldn't hear. Up until 1977, the coal- and oil-burning power plants in Norwalk, Montville, Bridgeport, Middletown, and New Haven were chugging along, polluting like all other plants from the '70s. The federal government, in response to growing environmental pressures, passed the Clean Air Act of 1977, requiring all power plants to decrease the amount of pollutants spewed into our air. The bill also, however, included a grandfather clause concerning pollution standards since the energy industry promised to retire the old plants within a few years. Nationwide, power plants in operation before 1977, unaffected by the new policy, continued on their merry evil way. To no one's surprise, this loophole gave the Filthy Five and their co-conspirators in other states a huge economic advantage over new plants, and, to this day, they pollute up to five times as much as they would be entitled to if they were built now.

So what's the big problem with a little extra sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and mercury? In Connecticut, 97 percent of residents breathe air that is considered "seriously unhealthy" by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The prolonged exposure to these levels of smog and soot significantly increases lung infection rates, aggravates asthma, and causes premature deaths. Those hit hardest by these ailments are children, the elderly, and the sick. Additionally, since all five plants are located in poor urban areas, Connecticut's inner-city and minority communities suffer the most. None of this begins to touch upon the devastating environmental effects that these plants produce.

There are two legal routes to follow in order to bring these plants up to modern standards. First, Governor Rowland could independently direct the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to close the loophole—though, after several years of protests, press conferences, and phone calls, it has become clear that this approach is futile. The second option, now being pursued, is to go through the legislative branch. The New Haven Board of Aldermen and other town boards have passed resolutions in favor of cleaning up the Filthy Five. Yet last summer, when the State House of Representatives passed a major clean air initiative, it was subsequently killed during a 30-second legislative committee meeting before going to the Senate. This extremely undemocratic move outraged environmentalists and health advocates and has mobilized citizen groups for the next legislative session. Here at Yale, student activists in Green Corps have joined forces with local grassroots organizations to stir up popular support and put pressure on legislators. However, before the Filthy Five will be made accountable, there must be an increase in such activism.

A bill to close the loophole will be reintroduced during the upcoming legislative session in Hartford. Surrounding states have recently required that their own grandfathered polluters adhere to modern standards. Now is the time to act; political insiders warn that the upcoming session may be the last time that legislators will be willing to debate this bill. If you care about the air you're breathing and the health of the people and environment around you, use your voice and let those in power know that it's time to clean up the Filthy Five. Just as our seniors will soon be moving on to the real world, these power plants should be moving on to fair economic competition, and our government should be moving on to a long-overdue acknowledgement of the high costs, both human and environmental, of rampant pollution.

Kelly Levin and Jeannette MacMillan are sophomores in JE.

Back to Opinion...