Coal plant sullies 'Green the Capitol' push
WASHINGTON -- When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a pre-Earth Day news conference last week to promote her plans to "Green the Capitol," she promised a number of steps to make the congressional campus a model of environmentalism.
But, surrounded by boxes of energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs she wants to install in 12,000 desk lamps, she became conspicuously vague when asked about the pair of towering smokestacks four blocks away.
The Capitol Power Plant, operated by Congress, is the only coal-burning plant in the District of Columbia and is a major source of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and soot in a city that has repeatedly been found in violation of the Clean Air Act.
But any efforts to eliminate coal have been thwarted by two of the most powerful figures in the Senate, who just happen to represent coal-producing states: Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and minority leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky.
When the office of the Architect of the Capitol tried in 2000 to eliminate coal from the fuel mix, the two lawmakers had a lot of say about the architect's budget. The discussions quickly ended.
Neither senator has any apologies for wanting the plant to continue using coal.
"He'd like it to continue as the fuel source," McConnell's spokesman, Don Stewart, said of the senator. He added, however, that McConnell would review any recommendations from the architect's office.
"As we break the chains of foreign oil, our reliance on resources that we have here at home will only expand," said Jenny Thalheimer, a spokeswoman for Byrd. "Technologies are available today that can burn coal more cleanly and more efficiently."
The plant has been called the "armpit of the Capitol" by Representative James P. Moran, Democrat of Virginia, who has repeatedly questioned why Congress continues to operate it. Lawmakers recently approved an $85 million expansion so the plant can serve the Capitol Visitor Center, which is under construction.
Despite its name, the Capitol Power Plant, which opened in 1910, has not produced a watt of electricity since 1952; the Capitol complex buys its power from Pepco.
Instead, the plant generates steam and chilled water to heat and cool the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and 19 other structures. Steam and chilled water are carried in pipes through a web of tunnels.
In addition to coal, the Capitol Power Plant burns natural gas and fuel oil, which are less polluting. About 49 percent of the fuel burned at the plant is coal, 43 percent is natural gas, and the rest is oil, said Daniel Beard, chief administrative officer of the House.
Emissions from the power plant are regulated by the District government under an arrangement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The environmental permit allowing the plant to operate is issued by the city and is up for renewal.
