FPP and Pollution

To The Editor:

Thank you for printing the article “Dubious Distinction” about the Fayette Power Project on the front page of the Fayette County Record on Jan. 7. Many people in Austin and the surrounding area do not know that their electricity comes from a coal-fired power plant or even where it is. They also don’t know how much CO2 is emitted. In 2020, nine billion kilograms of CO2 were emitted from the Fayette Power Project (FPP) which equals about 19.8 billion pounds of CO2.

CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas produced from burning fossil fuels and a major cause of climate change. 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere is the safest concentration. We now have 419 ppm and if we keep going the way we are going we will reach 450 ppm by 2040 (only 18 years from now). The planet will heat up by an average of two degrees C (3.6 degrees F) above pre-industrial levels and ecosystems worldwide would suffer serious damage.

Besides CO2 being released into the air from burning coal, coal ash, another byproduct from coal burning power plants contains chromium, arsenic, mercury, and lead. Coal ash is stored in “lined” pits at the FPP. According to the Environmental Integrity Projects (EIP) data analyzed in 2019 these pits leak the poisons into the groundwater.

The FPP not only needs to take responsibility for adding CO2 to the air affecting climate change but also for poisoning the land, water and people who live in the surrounding area. It is time they started cleaning up the coal ash pits and placing the ash in non-corrosive water tight containers, start testing for lead and mercury, begin transitioning to solar, and securing comparable jobs for displaced employees at LCRA or the City of Austin.

Martha Carleton

Austin