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Utility will pay $4.6B to end suit

WASHINGTON - One of the nation's largest power generators has agreed to end a yearslong federal lawsuit by paying $4.6-billion to reduce pollution that has eaten away at Northeast mountain ranges and national landmarks.

The settlement requires American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, to reduce chemical emissions that cause acid rain by at least 69 percent over the next decade.

It also fines AEP an additional $15-million in civil penalties and $60-million in cleanup and mitigation costs to help heal parkland and waterways that have been hurt by the pollution.

Details of the agreement were provided by two people familiar with its terms who spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because it had not yet been filed in federal court. Spokesmen for AEP declined comment Monday.

The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency also declined comment.

Eight states, a dozen environmental groups and the EPA brought the lawsuit against AEP in 1999, accusing the energy company of rebuilding coal-fired power plants without installing pollution controls as required under the Clean Air Act.

Environmentalists blame acid rain caused by coal-fired power plants for plaguing the Northeast over the last quarter-century, including damage that has eaten away at the Statue of Liberty and the Adirondacks mountain range in upstate New York. Smog and acid rain have been linked to sulfates and nitrates that are products of coal-fired plants.

The eight states that brought the lawsuit, along with the EPA and, are Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

[Last modified October 9, 2007, 00:36:06]