Dickerson Power Plant

The Dickerson Power Plant is an 853 megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant in Montgomery County, Maryland, owned by the Atlanta-based Mirant Corporation. The plant began operating in 1959 and was acquired by Mirant in 2000. It is located 3.6 miles from the town of Lucketts and 7.9 miles from Leesburg.

In 2005, four environmental groups (The Environmental Integrity Project, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Maryland Public Interest Research Group, and Chesapeake Climate Action Network) sued the Mirant Corporation over nearly 500 tons of illegal emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution at the Dickerson power plant.

In September 2006, a settlement was reached requiring Mirant to improve pollution control technology and reduction of NOx emissions at the Dickerson power plant, as well as three other coal-fired plants in Maryland.

Nov. 10, 2004: Chesapeake Climate Action Network blockade of Dickerson Power Plant
On November 10, 2004, a group of Chesapeake Climate Action Network activists, students, farmers, and religious officials held a protest against the Dickerson plant. During the protest, six people were arrested for blocking the entrance road to the plant. The protestors called on the plant's owner, the Mirant Corporation, to stop opposing state and federal legislation against power plant pollution.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Mirant Corporation
 * Maryland and coal
 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants