Attorney General William Tong filed an enforcement action today against United Illuminating, a division of Avangrid (NYSE:AGR), for failing to remediate the contamination at its defunct English Station power plant in New Haven.
English Station operated as a coal and oil-fired power plant for United Illuminating from 1929 until it was deactivated in 1992. Tong said the site has been extensively contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a known carcinogen, heavy metals, and other contaminants. United Illuminating is obligated by a 2015 PURA order to remediate certain environmental conditions at English Station regardless of cost, but made little to no progress and even failed to secure the site against vandals.
Tong’s action, which was taken on behalf of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, seeks a permanent injunction requiring United Illuminating to take “whatever action is necessary” to fulfil its legal obligations to clean-up English Station. The complaint further seeks penalties of up to $25,000 per day for each violation of a 2016 Partial Consent Order requiring remediation.
“United Illuminating is obligated to remediate English Station regardless of what it takes and regardless of the cost,” said Tong in a press statement. “That is the law, and that is not up for debate. We have tried for years to get United Illuminating to fulfill its obligations, and they have refused. We were left with no choice but to file today’s legal action, on behalf of our state and the people of New Haven who deserve to see this site cleaned and ready for productive, future use.”
Photo courtesy Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons
