Martin Lake Steam Station

Martin Lake Steam Electric Station is a coal-fired power station owned by Energy Future Holdings (EFH) and operated by Luminant near Tatum, Texas. Formerly known as TXU Corp., Energy Future was sold in 2007 to a group led by private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Inc.

Lawsuit over Air Pollution at Martin Lake Plant
In July, 2007, the Sierra Club put EFH and its subsidiary, Luminant, on notice that the group intended to sue the company for Clean Air Act violations at its Martin Lake plant. The plant was rated as the first in the nation for power plant mercury emissions in 2005, emitting a total of 1,705 pounds of mercury that year. The Sierra Club claimed that both the U.S. EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ignored soot pollution and other violations at the facility. They also claimed that Martin Lake was one of the dirtiest plants in the entire country in regard to particle pollution, mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon dioxide. These toxins, the Sierra Club noted, are producing a great health risk to communities nearby. The facility currently uses scrubber technology.

In September 2010, EFH and its Luminant Generation unit were sued by the Sierra Club over pollution emitted by the Martin Lake plant. The plant near Longview is among the dirtiest in the U.S., the environmental group said in its complaint filed in federal court in Texarkana, Texas: “It is the worst power plant for mercury pollution among all U.S. coal plants, emitting 1,764 pounds in 2008,” the Sierra Club said in a statement. The San Francisco-based group asked a judge to find the plant’s operators in violation of the U.S. Clean Air Act.

Sierra Club calls for closure of three coal plants in Texas
On March 18, 2011 the Sierra Club released a report stating that three of Luminant's coal plants in East Texas should be shut down because the facilities do not meet Clean Air Act standards and need $3.6 billion in upgrades in order to comply with federal regulations.

The three plants targeted were Big Brown, Monticello Steam Station and the Martin Lake Steam Station plant. The Sierra Club expressed concern about "the major threats to air and water pollution that citizens in the Barnett Shale [in North Texas] are dealing with firsthand."

The study recommended:
 * "[R]eplacement of three coal fired power plants built in the 1970’s (Big Brown, Monticello and Martin Lake) is a financial and environmental necessity. The plants, currently owned by Energy Future Holding/Luminant and serving North Texas are financially mismanaged, cannot compete profitably in the current market, require pollution control upgrades that are unaffordable and have suffered deep losses in market value. The financial outlook for the company and the plants going forward show very little upside. A broad look at the national and Texas energy market suggest planning tools and resources exist to ensure a smooth transition to a more financially stable and reliable supply of electricity."

Martin Lake Plant is Nation's Worst for Mercury Emissions
In March 2010 the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) released a report using available EPA data that indicated half of the country's 50 largest mercury-emitting power plants have increased their emissions in recent years. The report also noted that half of the coal plants in the United States do not have the most up to date emission controls in place, and five of the plants with the highest amount of mercury emitted are located in Texas.

Coal-fired power plants generate more than 40 percent of U.S. emissions. Mercury released into the air settles in rivers and lakes, where it moves through the food chain to the fish that people eat. The report states that Luminant's Martin Lake Steam Station in Texas is the nation's worst mercury polluter. The plant reported a 4.56 percent increase from 2007 to 2008.

The 2011 Environmental Defense Fund report, "Mercury Alert: Cleaning up Coal Plants for Healthier Lives" found that 25 plants alone are responsible for nearly a third of all mercury emissions in the power sector, while providing only eight percent of U.S. electricity. The findings are based on 2009 U.S. Department of Energy data. The plant with the highest mercury emissions was Martin Lake Steam Station, releasing 1,566 lbs in 2009.

Martin Lake ranked 5th in largest carbon dioxide emissions
Martin Lake ranked 5th in terms of largest carbon dioxide emissions according to a 2009 report by Environment America, "America's Biggest Polluters," the Martin Lake station is the fifth dirtiest plant in the nation, releasing 21.8 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2007. Ranking is based upon Environmental Protection Agency data.

Plant Data

 * Owner: Energy Future Holdings
 * Parent Company: Luminant
 * Plant Nameplate Capacity: 2,380 MW
 * Units and In-Service Dates: 793 MW (1977), 793 MW (1978), 793 MW (1979)
 * Location: 8850 FM 2658 N., Tatum, TX 75691
 * GPS Coordinates: 32.259167, -94.568611
 * Coal Consumption:
 * Coal Source:
 * Number of Employees:

Emissions Data

 * 2006 CO2 Emissions: 21,301,393 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions: 77,419 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
 * 2006 NOx Emissions: 15,608 tons
 * 2005 Mercury Emissions: 1,705 lb.

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Martin Lake Steam Plant
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Martin Lake Steam Plant
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011

Related SourceWatch Articles

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