Lawyers representing EPA last week argued that multimillion-dollar boiler upgrades in 2007 and 2010 at Ameren Missouri’s Rush Island facilities south of St. Louis should have required a permit and review process under the Clean Air Act.

In the 1990s, Ameren decided to switch to a new, ultra-low-sulfur coal rather than install new controls. This resulted in operational problems at the plant, leading the company to make $72 million worth of upgrades, including boiler modifications and a new turbine. It also led, EPA argued, to increased electricity output and, thus, increased emissions.

James W. Beers Jr., of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, argued that the upgrades are new sources of pollution and should be subjected to more rigid emissions limits. He said that Ameren should install new sulfur dioxide controls at the plants. Ameren said the improvements were part of routine maintenance and should not fall under Clean Air Act standards. The company also argued that EPA cannot prove that the rise in emissions resulted from the upgrades and not from increased electricity demand.

More: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ginna Cited by NRC For Document Error

Federal regulators have cited R.E. Ginna nuclear plant owner Exelon for a safety violation because the station’s emergency plan contained a sentence that misused less-than symbols.

If a serious accident had occurred, the written emergency management decision flowchart could have led control room operators to mistakenly call for a mass evacuation, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The mistake proved harmless, as there was no serious accident during the two-and-a-half years the error existed in the tree-like graph, intended to support decision-making during critical incidents.

The mistake was discovered by an Exelon supervisor this spring as plant personnel prepared for an emergency drill. The commission classified the error as a low-to-moderate level violation.

More: Democrat and Chronicle

FAA Stands by its Greenlight For Proposed Wind Farm

The Federal Aviation Administration is standing by its previous determination that the proposed Chapman Ranch wind farm in South Texas would “not have an adverse effect on the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace” primarily used by the U.S. Navy for training pilots out of Kingsville and Corpus Christi.

The administration’s decision, along with an agreement between the Navy and developer Apex Clean Energy, still leaves unresolved concerns that the wind farm may make the area less attractive to the military for training. The agreement allows the Navy to shut down the wind farm’s operation any time it interferes with its operations, according to John Kelley, who represents the Chapman family.

The Corpus Christi City Council, which annexed lands to assert some control over the facility’s development, responded to FAA’s decision by stripping $14 million from next year’s budget for capital improvement projects for the newly annexed land.

More: Corpus Christi Caller-Times; Corpus Christi Caller-Times

TVA Files for Uprates At Browns Ferry Plant

The Tennessee Valley Authority has filed a request with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow power uprates at its Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.

The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League opposes the request, saying that TVA’s calculation “under-predicts the reaction of zirconium and steam that would occur in a loss-of-coolant accident.”

“NRC should seek to reduce, not increase, the risk of loss of coolant that will melt the fuel rods leading to meltdown and released radiation,” said Gary Morgan of the group’s Scottsboro-based chapter.

More: The Chattanoogan

Renewable Production Beat Records Each Month of 2016

Renewable energy production set new records each month of 2016, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The measures run through June and include utility-scale wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass plants larger than 1 MW. The records were attained despite low numbers for hydro because of the drought in the West. And while most renewables have been increasing their share, hydro’s share has remained unchanged for the past 20 years.

More: Greentech Media

Tesla Wins FTC Approval To Buy SolarCity

The Federal Trade Commission approved Tesla Motors acquisition of the home solar installation company SolarCity, a move the car manufacturing company said would further its goal of providing a one-stop shop for solar panels, home battery storage and electric cars.

The $2.6 billion transaction, announced earlier this month, still needs other regulatory approvals, but SolarCity said it hopes the deal closes by the end of the year.

More: Reuters

Fracking Tied to Migraines, Fatigue, Study Says

A study in Environmental Health Perspectives drew a connection between living near shale gas wells and an increased rate of migraines, fatigue and sinus problems. The report, based on 7,785 randomly selected patients of a Pennsylvania health system, showed that those living closest to fracking sites were 49% to 95% more likely to show signs of chronic sinusitis, migraines and fatigue.

The senior author, Dr. Brian S. Schwartz, admitted there could be other variables and said the study was observational, not one that proved cause and effect.

However, he said, “there have now been seven or eight studies with different designs and in different populations, and while none is perfect, there is now a growing body of evidence that this industry is associated with impacts on health that are biologically plausible. Do we know the exact mechanism? No. That requires further study.”

More: The New York Times

BLM Leasing Program Draws Opposition

Environmentalists are challenging a Bureau of Land Management plan to lease more than 19,000 acres of federal land in Montana for oil and gas exploration.

WildEarth Guardians says BLM officials have failed to consider the climate damage done by fossil fuel development. The Center for Biological Diversity and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership have also filed protests on the proposed lease, which is slated for auction Oct. 18 in Billings.

The group has been aggressively challenging BLM leases in several Western states, including Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, on grounds similar to those cited by the group in Montana. BLM has leased more than 800,000 acres of federal land for oil and gas development last year alone.

More: Billings Gazette