Trenton Channel Power Plant Named in Call for Federal Water Pollution Standards

Environmental groups will hold a press conference Thursday in River Rouge regarding coal-fired power plants including the Trenton Channel Power Plant.

Representatives of the Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, Food and Water Watch and the Clean Energy Now Coalition plan to discuss the need for strong federal standards limiting toxic water pollution from coal-fired power plants, according to a release from the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign.

The press conference and a water sports demonstration will coincide with a new national report that highlights the need for strong national coal plant water pollution standards. The DTE Energy power plant in Trenton was named in the report released nationally on Tuesday.

The report, "Closing the Floodgates: How the Coal Industry is Poisoning Our Water and How We Can Stop It, was released by a coalition of environmental and clean water groups, including the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action.

"Existing guidelines written to limit toxics discharged from coal plants do not cover many of the worst pollutants such as those discharged in the Detroit River, and have not been updated in more than 30 years," according to the release.

The press conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 25 at 1 Belanger Park Drive in River Rouge.

Randi Berris, spokeswoman for DTE Energy, said any discharge from DTE Energy's coal-fired power plants is monitored by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

"The MDEQ has plant-specific limitations on discharges and DTE is compliant with the regulations," Berris said. "The water discharged to lakes and rivers under state permits is very clean already."

"If the government chooses to make new standards, we will meet those standards."

*The above information was provided by the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign.