Statement of the Cleaner Valley Coalition
Contact Juan Carlos Ruiz, 414-758-0600
Milwaukee, WI – Today, the Cleaner Valley Coalition announced its support of legal actions taken by two coalition partners to clean up We Energies’ Valley Coal Plant. Sierra Club and Clean Wisconsin filed petitions with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, contending that the plant’s recently issued air permit violates the Clean Air Act.
Coalition partners had the following to say about the latest step in the fight to clean up We Energies’ Valley Coal Plant:
The Valley Plant is the dirtiest plant in We Energies’ fleet, yet sits in the most densely populated area of the state, an area surrounded by low-income communities of color. According to the Clean Air Task Force, pollution from this plant is responsible for $280 million in health care costs annually. The contrast between the unhealthy air pollution from this plant, and the dramatically cleaner emissions from WE Energies’ plants in virtually all-white communities, raises serious issues of environmental justice.
– Dennis Grzezinski, senior counsel at Midwest Environmental Advocates
The first and most important role the EPA has is to ensure that Milwaukee folks breathe clean air. We might have strong federal standards, but they are not being applied to the Valley Coal Plant. Here in Milwaukee, EPA is failing us and we demand that they do their job and enforce all health standards as stipulated in the Clean Air Act.
– Juan Carlos Ruiz, small business owner
As a Cleaner Valley Coalition partner, we support all efforts to clean up We Energies’ Valley Coal Plant. Our children and families deserve to breathe clean air. That’s why we are attempting to work with We Energies to rectify this issue.
– Reverend Willie Brisco, MICAH president.
As the Milwaukee Latino Health Coalition, our responsibility is to advocate for a healthy community. That is why we are asking We Energies to clean up its mess – because it is a threat to the health of our children and families.
– Virginia Zerpa, Milwaukee Latino Health Coalition
