The state Department of Justice has obtained a judgment against Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced Thursday that the utility will pay $80,000 in forfeitures, court costs and surcharges.
The justice department says WPSC violated the conditions of its state air pollution control permit, at the utility’s coal-fired power plants in Rothschild.
The civil complaint says the utility exceeded carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds emissions limits at the plant. In addition, the complaint says WPSC exceeded sulfur dioxide emissions limits on eight days between July 2008 and April 2009. According to the complaint, the utility also operated without a required pollution control device, possibly allowing emissions of unregulated particulate matter.
The attorney general’s office says particle pollution, ground-level ozone and sulfur oxides can harm public health and the environment.
