LG&E agrees to $750K civil penalty in air pollution case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville Gas & Electric Co. has agreed to pay a $750,000 civil penalty and permanently limit emissions from its Mill Creek Station coal-fired power plant in Kentucky, the U.S. Justice Department said.

A proposed agreement was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kentucky in the case about the Jefferson County plant. It still needs court approval.

The company also will add battery-powered service trucks rather than diesel for power line maintenance or construction, the Justice Department said in a news release.

LG&E agreed to permanent emission limits for sulfuric acid mist, the release said.

A complaint filed in July 2020 alleged that LG&E’s “coal combustion operations emitted high levels of sulfuric acid mist, affecting the surrounding community and violating certain federally enforceable general provisions of Kentucky’s Clean Air Act State Implementation Plan,” the Justice Department said.

LG&E continues to deny the allegations in the complaint, the court document filed Wednesday said.