New Jersey claims emissions of smog and acid rain components sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from Reliant's Portland Generating Station in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, drift into its territory.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey sued power generator Reliant Energy on Tuesday, claiming that emissions from a Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant hurt the state's air quality.
New Jersey claims emissions of smog and acid rain components sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from Reliant's Portland Generating Station in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, drift into its territory.
It also claims that Reliant violated the federal Clean Air Act by modifying and operating the plant without required pollution control equipment and construction permits.
"The Portland Generating Station continues to operate each day in violation of federal law, and pollutants from the plant continue to carry across the Delaware River on prevailing winds, harming the air breathed by New Jersey residents," New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a release.
!ADVERTISEMENT!New Jersey filed the suit, which seeks civil penalties, in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania,
Reliant said in a release the plant had a valid air permit and was operating in compliance with the permit's requirements.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Walter Bagley)
