Federal regulators have ordered the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to rework portions of the air quality permit it issued for Alabama Power’s Plant Barry near Mobile, siding with environmental groups that argued the permit failed to adequately address sulfur dioxide pollution from the coal- and gas-fired plant.
In an order signed June 14, an Environmental Protection Agency administrative court partially granted two of nine objections raised by a coalition of three environmental organizations challenging ADEM’s air pollution controls for sulfur dioxide, or SO2, under National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The ruling found ADEM needed to provide additional background and explanation regarding how it set SO2 limits for the plant, and directed the state agency to include reasonable precautions in the permit, such as water application to materials on site, to control fugitive dust generated by the plant’s use of coal. ADEM now has 90 days to correct the deficiencies identified in the order.
Plant Barry first received an operating permit in 2003 and has been required to renew it every five years since. ADEM issued the plant’s most recent permit in February 2021. The Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition, the Sierra Club and the Group Against Smog and Pollution jointly filed the complaint that led to the EPA’s review, arguing that monitoring showed SO2 emissions from Plant Barry exceeding federal standards. The EPA has previously found that short-term exposure to sulfur dioxide can affect the lungs and heart, particularly in people with asthma. The groups also argued that the area affected by the plant’s emissions plume includes a disproportionately high share of Black and Indigenous residents who already face elevated rates of poverty and cancer.
Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition President Ramsey Sprague called the EPA’s decision a matter of following the letter of the law under the Clean Air Act, and said it underscores how important thorough record-keeping is to preventing environmental harm.
“We’re encouraged by EPA’s rejection of the ADEM Clean Air Act pollution permit for Plant Barry,” Sprague said. “We are committed to ongoing, fair scrutiny of power plant pollution with partners like GASP and Sierra Club, especially where it impacts communities already overburdened with many other types of pollution.”
Group Against Smog and Pollution Executive Director Michael Hansen described the ruling as a win for accountability, saying state and local agencies have too often failed to scrutinize permits closely enough.
“State and local agencies are far too often asleep at the wheel, and they are now on notice,” Hansen said. “ADEM now has the opportunity to draft a stronger, more protective permit for Alabama Power’s Plant Barry.”
ADEM Air Division Chief Ron Gore characterized the EPA’s action as unusual but said it should not be read as an indictment of the agency’s permitting process. He noted that Plant Barry’s permit remains active despite the ruling, though he acknowledged the decision will make permit writing more demanding going forward and could alter requirements for similar facilities across the state.
Gore said ADEM already requires water application for dust control at facilities located near residential areas, framing the issue as more of a nuisance concern than a direct health threat, and noted that many facilities apply water to improve conditions for their own workers regardless of any requirement. He said Plant Barry may already be following that practice, though Alabama Power did not immediately confirm whether water application was in use at the site.
Gore suggested the EPA’s heightened scrutiny reflects policies pursued by the Biden administration, calling it a departure from past practice that mirrors trends seen in other states, particularly Texas and Louisiana, where multiple industrial plants clustered in a single area can create compounding pollution effects.
“This is the first time we’ve ever had someone say that we need to do things differently,” Gore said, noting that roughly 300 facilities across Alabama have been receiving similar permits every five years for the past three decades.
Gore added that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued the same week on air pollution regulation does not affect Plant Barry’s permit, saying that decision centered on the principle that Congress, not administrative agencies, is responsible for writing the laws that govern emissions standards.