Dave Johnston Power Plant

Dave Johnston Power Plant is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by MidAmerican Energy (which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway) near Glenrock, Wyoming.

Plant Data

 * Owner: PacifiCorp
 * Parent Company: MidAmerican Energy (owned by Berkshire Hathaway)
 * Plant Nameplate Capacity: 817 MW (Megawatts)
 * Units and In-Service Dates: 114 MW (1959), 114 MW (1961), 230 MW (1964), 360 MW (1972)
 * Location: 1591 Tank Farm Rd., Glenrock, WY 82637
 * GPS Coordinates: 42.839239, -105.777984
 * Coal Consumption:
 * Coal Source:
 * Number of Employees:

Emissions Data

 * 2006 CO2 Emissions: 7,708,348 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions: 19,980 tons
 * 2006 NOx Emissions: 16,457 tons
 * 2005 Mercury Emissions: 223 pounds

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

Citizen groups

 * Powder River Basin Resource Council
 * Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter
 * Wyoming Conservation Voters
 * Wyoming Conservation Voters Education Fund
 * Wyoming Outdoor Council

==Toxic Waste Data ==
 * Chromium Waste: 22,083 pounds
 * Air Release: 293 pounds
 * ''Land Release (Landfill/Sludge): 21,790 pounds
 * Dioxin Waste: .3255 grams
 * Air Release: .3255 pounds
 * Lead Waste: 11,723.1 pounds
 * Air Release: 221 pounds
 * Land Release (Landfill/Sludge/Reuse): 11,501.1 pounds
 * Nickel Waste: 21,199 pounds
 * Air Release: 296 pounds
 * Land Release (Landfill/Sludge): 20,903 pounds

Coal ash at Dave Johnston Power Plant
According to a 2007 risk assessment report released by the EPA, Wyoming has 17 coal ponds at 5 coal-fired power plant sites. Of these ponds, 11 are over 30 years in age and 4 are over 40 years old. Additionally, four surface impoundments and landfills were reported as being unlined, and two that were clay-lined.

The history of coal ash releases in Wyoming are as follow:


 * 55,000 cubic yards of fly ash spilled from a pond at the Naughton Power Plant
 * In January 2009, 14,400 gallons of coal ash processing water overflowed the canal at a coal ash pond at the Dave Johnston Power Plant
 * Seepage occurred at the Bridger Power Station, where 10,000 gallons of coal ash was released per month, which was then pumped back into the pond

Accidents and Negligence

 * December 20, 1995
 * A high-pressure steam line ruptured in one of the coal burners, killing two employees and severely burning another.

Litigation and Controversy

 * January 10, 1997
 * The EPA ruled against PacifiCorp, citing that the company’s emissions levels at nine of their plants nation-wide exceed limits set in place to decrease acid rain
 * These nine plants exceeded their nitrogen oxide limits, the main cause of acid rain.
 * PacifiCorp must spend $20 million over the next four years to control to comply with the EPA’s targets.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * Wyoming and coal
 * PacifiCorp
 * MidAmerican Energy
 * Berkshire Hathaway
 * United States and coal
 * Global warming