SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
October, 27 2011, 03:49pm EDT
Contact:
Suma Peesapati, Earthjustice, (510) 550-6785
Ilan Levin, Environmental Integrity Project, (512) 637-9479
Erin Fonken, Environmental Integrity Project, (512) 637-9474
Jen Powis, Sierra Club, (832) 453-4404
Neil Carman, Sierra Club, (512) 288-5772
TXU-Luminant Violated Clean Air Act Over 38,000 Times
Earthjustice, the Environmental Integrity Project, and Sierra Club call on Luminant to clean up three Texas power plants
DALLAS, Texas
Today, Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), on behalf of the Sierra Club, put Energy Futures Holdings Corp. and its subsidiary, Luminant Generation Company, LLC (formerly TXU) on notice that the groups will sue the company for committing more than 38,000 alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.
The two notices of intent to sue are aimed at tens of thousands of ongoing air pollution violations at Luminant's Big Brown and Monticello coal-fired power plants in Northeast Texas. Earthjustice's notice targets the Monticello power plant located in Titus County and EIP's notice targets the Big Brown power plant located in Freestone County. In September of 2010, the groups sued Luminant for similar violations at its Martin Lake power plant in Rusk County, Texas; that case is still pending. Earthjustice, EIP, and the Sierra Club seek to compel Luminant to stop putting Texans' health and lives at stake and bring its power plants into compliance with its air pollution permits.
"It's high time for Luminant to act like a good neighbor and stop dumping harmful pollution on its neighbors within the state and outside the state," said Earthjustice attorney Suma Peesapati.
In 2007, when TXU became Luminant through a highly leveraged buyout, the company promised to become a leader in environmental stewardship for Texas. However, three of Luminant's coal plants--Big Brown, Monticello, and Martin Lake--are the top three industrial polluters in Texas among nearly 2,000 industrial plants. These exceptionally dirty plants, combined, spew more than 25% of the state's industrial air pollution and more than 46% of the state's coal plant pollution, according to data Luminant filed in 2009 with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
"Breathing excessive levels of harmful air pollution should not be a way of life for the people who live and work near Luminant's plants," said EIP attorney Erin Fonken. "Luminant must be held accountable for its thousands of violations and clean up its act."
The formal notices of intent to sue filed today are a legal prerequisite to initiating a federal Clean Air Act citizen suit. The notices not only provide Luminant with the allegations of wrongdoing, but also provide a 60-day window for the federal Environmental Protection Agency to consider intervening in the suit.
"Luminant continues to avoid cleaning up these filthy plants even when their own emissions data show they are polluting at excessive levels, especially when compared to the rest of our industrial sources in Texas," said Jen Powis of the Sierra Club. "The science is solid: air pollution harms people's health, property, and livelihoods and the emissions from these two giant coal plants are a big part of the problem."
Today's notices target excessive levels of particulate matter, also referred to as soot. The company monitors the opacity of its smokestack emissions in order to meet safe soot levels. Luminant's own data reveals that the Monticello power plant violated its allowed opacity limits nearly 18,000 times during the past five years. The company's data reveals that the Big Brown power plant violated its opacity limits over 20,000 times in the past five years and its particulate matter limits 370 times in the past three and a half years. Particulate matter emissions contribute to asthma, heart attacks, other serious illnesses, and thousands of premature deaths every year.
Earlier this year, Sierra Club provided Luminant with reports based on the company's own data demonstrating that Big Brown, Monticello, and Martin Lake also contributed to unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide near all three coal plants. The sulfur dioxide levels were demonstrated to be far higher than those deemed safe by the EPA in its national ambient air quality standards. For example, the data showed that, in a 5-mile radius surrounding the Big Brown plant, sulfur dioxide levels can reach nearly triple what is safe to breathe. EIP's letter regarding the Big Brown power plant reminds Luminant that the plant's sulfur dioxide emissions are causing pollution levels that harm the health of people living nearby and are prohibited by Texas air quality rules.
"Luminant operates some of the dirtiest coal-fired power units in the country," said Dr. Neil Carman of the Sierra Club. "Collectively, the Monticello, Big Brown, and Martin Lake coal plants emit approximately 4,000 pounds per year of toxic mercury, over 185,000 tons per year of asthma-causing sulfur dioxide, and over 33,000 tons per year of smog-forming nitrogen oxides. Time is running out. Luminant must clean up these plants now."
Related Documents:
Related Resources:
- SO2 Modeling for Big Brown Coal Plant: https://texasgreenreport.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/aermod-so2-modeling-big-brown.pdf
- SO2 Modeling for Martin Lake Coal Plant: https://texasgreenreport.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/final-aermod-so2-modeling-of-martin-lake.pdf
- SO2 Modeling for Monticello Coal Plant: https://texasgreenreport.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/aermod-so2-modeling-monticello.pdf
LATEST NEWS
'Get the Oil Flowing': Trump's Own Words Make His War Aims in Venezuela Clear
"They have spoken openly about controlling Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world," said US Sen. Bernie Sanders. "It recalls the darkest chapters of US interventions in Latin America."
Jan 04, 2026
US President Donald Trump left no doubt on Saturday that a—or perhaps the—primary driver of his decision to illegally attack Venezuela, abduct its president, and pledge to indefinitely run its government was his desire to control and exploit the country's oil reserves, which are believed to be the largest in the world.
Over the course of Trump's lengthy press conference following Saturday's assault, the word "oil" was mentioned dozens of times as the president vowed to unleash powerful fossil fuel giants on the South American nation and begin "taking a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground"—with a healthy cut of it going to the US "in the form of reimbursement" for the supposed "damages caused us" by Venezuela.
"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, and start making money for the country," Trump said. "We're going to get the oil flowing the way it should be."
Currently, Chevron is the only US-based oil giant operating in Venezuela, whose oil industry and broader economy have been badly hampered by US sanctions. In a statement on Saturday, a Chevron spokesperson said the company is "prepared to work constructively with the US government during this period, leveraging our experience and presence to strengthen US energy security."
Other oil behemoths, some of which helped bankroll Trump's presidential campaign, are likely licking their chops—even if they've been mostly quiet in the wake of the US attack, which was widely condemned as unlawful and potentially catastrophic for the region. Amnesty International said Saturday that "the stated US intention to run Venezuela and control its oil resources" likely "constitutes a violation of international law."
"The most powerful multinational fossil fuel corporations stand to benefit from these aggressions, and US oil and gas companies are poised to exploit the chaos."
Thomas O'Donnell, an energy and geopolitical strategist, told Reuters that "the company that probably will be very interested in going back [to Venezuela] is Conoco," noting that an international arbitration tribunal has ordered Caracas to pay the company around $10 billion for alleged "unlawful expropriation" of oil investments.
The Houston Chronicle reported that "Exxon, America’s largest oil company, which has for years grown its presence in South America, would be among the most likely US oil companies to tap Venezuela’s deep oil reserves. The company, along with fellow Houston giant ConocoPhillips, had a number of failed contract attempts with Venezuela under Maduro and former President Hugo Chavez."
Elizabeth Bast, executive director of the advocacy group Oil Change International, said in a statement Saturday that the Trump administration's escalation in Venezuela "follows a historic playbook: undermine leftist governments, create instability, and clear the path for extractive companies to profit."
"The most powerful multinational fossil fuel corporations stand to benefit from these aggressions, and US oil and gas companies are poised to exploit the chaos and carve up one of the world's most oil-rich territories," said Bast. "The US must stop treating Latin America as a resource colony. The Venezuelan people, not US oil executives, must shape their country’s future."
US Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said that the president's own words make plain that his attack on Venezuela and attempt to impose his will there are "about trying to grab Venezuela's oil for Trump's billionaire buddies."
In a statement, US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) echoed that sentiment, calling Trump's assault on Venezuela "rank imperialism."
"They have spoken openly about controlling Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world," said Sanders. "It recalls the darkest chapters of US interventions in Latin America, which have left a terrible legacy. It will and should be condemned by the democratic world."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Defying Trump, Venezuela VP Says 'We Will Never Again Be a Colony of Any Empire'
“What is being done to Venezuela is barbaric," said Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the role of interim president following the US abduction of Nicolás Maduro.
Jan 04, 2026
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the role of interim president following the US abduction of Nicolás Maduro, said in a televised address Saturday that "we will never again be a colony of any empire," defying the Trump administration's plan to indefinitely control Venezuela's government and exploit its vast oil reserves.
“We are determined to be free,” declared Rodríguez, who demanded that the US release Maduro from custody and said he is still Venezuela's president.
“What is being done to Venezuela is barbaric," she added.
Rodríguez's defiant remarks came after US President Donald Trump claimed he is "designating various people" to run Venezuela's government, suggested American troops could be deployed, and threatened a "second wave" of attacks on the country if its political officials don't bow to the Trump administration's demands.
Trump also threatened "all political and military figures in Venezuela," warning that "what happened to Maduro can happen to them." Maduro is currently detained in Brooklyn and facing fresh US charges.
Rodríguez's public remarks contradicted the US president's claim that she privately pledged compliance with the Trump administration's attempts to control Venezuela's political system and oil infrastructure. The interim president delivered her remarks alongside top Venezuelan officials, including legislative and judicial leaders, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, a projection of unity in the face of US aggression.
"Doesn’t feel like a nation that is ready to let Donald Trump and Marco Rubio 'run it,'" said US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who condemned the Trump administration for "starting an illegal war with Venezuela that Americans didn’t ask for and has nothing to do with our security."
Keep ReadingShow Less
After Venezuela Assault, Trump and Rubio Warn Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia Could Be Next
"The 'Trump corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine—applied in recent hours with violent force over the skies of Caracas—is the single greatest threat to peace and prosperity that the Americas confront today," said Progressive International.
Jan 03, 2026
US President Donald Trump and top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, characterized Saturday's assault on Venezuela and abduction of the country's president as a warning shot in the direction of Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American nations.
During a Saturday press conference, Trump openly invoked the Monroe Doctrine—an assertion of US dominance of the Western Hemisphere—and said his campaign of aggression against Venezuela represented the "Donroe Doctrine" in action.
In his unwieldy remarks, Trump called out Colombian President Gustavo Petro by name, accusing him without evidence of "making cocaine and sending it to the United States."
"So he does have to watch his ass," the US president said of Petro, who condemned the Trump administration's Saturday attack on Venezuela as "aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America."
Petro responded defiantly to the possibility of the US targeting him, writing on social media that he is "not worried at all."
In a Fox News appearance earlier Saturday, Trump also took aim at the United States' southern neighbor, declaring ominously that "something's going to have to be done with Mexico," which also denounced the attack on Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro.
"She is very frightened of the cartels," Trump said of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. "So we have to do something."
"This armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event. It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana."
Rubio, for his part, focused on Cuba—a country whose government he has long sought to topple.
"If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned, at least a little bit," Rubio, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents, said during Saturday's press conference.
That the Trump administration wasted no time threatening other nations as it pledged to control Venezuela indefinitely sparked grave warnings, with the leadership of Progressive International cautioning that "this armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event."
"It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana—and an attack on the very principle of sovereign equality and the prospects for the Zone of Peace once established by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States," the coalition said in a statement. "This renewed declaration of impunity from Washington is a threat to all nations around the world."
"Trump has clearly articulated the imperial logic of this intervention—to seize control over Venezuela's natural resources and reassert US domination over the hemisphere," said Progressive International. "The 'Trump corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine—applied in recent hours with violent force over the skies of Caracas—is the single greatest threat to peace and prosperity that the Americas confront today."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular