WPS Settles with EPA

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation has reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA filed a Notice of Violation against WPS in November 2009 alleging that the utility had not obtained the proper air permits for improvements it made to electric generating units to ensure electric reliability as far back as 1994.

WPS does not admit any wrongdoing. In the settlement, WPS agreed to retire, refuel or repower its coal-fired Weston Plant units 1 & 2 (near Wausau, WI), as well as Pulliam Plant units 5 & 6 in Green Bay. The deadline for completing the activities is June 1, 2015. The settlement included a provision for WPS to install its previously announced innovative ReACT™ environmental controls at its Weston 3 generator (321 megawatts). The system will reduce emissions of several pollutants and will position the unit to be in compliance with future EPA regulations.

The ReACT™ installation will be the first commercial application of this technology in the United States. After detailed review and analysis, WPS opted to move forward with ReACT™ in advance of the settlement. Following Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approval, the ReACT™ project will take more than 3.5 years to complete and bring more than 200 temporary, high-paying construction jobs to the Wausau, WI area.