The Board of Environmental Protection will vote at its next meeting on the rule to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 40 percent. Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcoast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Board of Environmental Protection will have to vote at its next meeting on a rule aimed at reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by about 40 percent at the Wyman Station on Cousins Island, which is part of Yarmouth.
Nitrogen oxides are a key component of smog.
State data shows that Wyman Station, which has been described as Maine's largest single source of nitrogen oxide emissions, released 2,710 tons of the pollutant in 1998. The Natural Resources Council of Maine asked the state to order emissions cuts at the plant. The environmental lobby says public health is at issue, noting that 478,000 Maine residents live within 30 miles of Wyman. FPL Energy, which owns the power station, wanted the state to allow emissions trading. It would allow the utility to make 20 percent of its emission reductions at a plant outside of Maine by purchasing credits.