- The combined heat and power plant began operation 3 years ago despite opposition from residents and environmental justice advocates, which claim the plant is exacerbating air pollution and contributing to climate impacts.
- Community near the facility is predominantly Black (>90%), at least a third of the residents live below the federal poverty line, and has one of the highest childhood asthma hospitalization rates in the Philadelphia. EJ leaders are calling the permitting of this plant a prime example of environmental racism.
- Activists want continuous air pollution monitoring for the plant with results available online and more transparency on the part of the plant operators and local regulators.
By: WHYY (PBS/NPR) | January 24, 2023
A controversial natural gas power plant in North Philadelphia that powers some of SEPTA’s Regional Rail lines is up for permit renewal. The combined heat and power plant began operation about three years ago despite intense opposition from residents and environmental justice advocates, which led to lengthy permit appeals. Those same groups are now pushing for more frequent monitoring of the facility’s pollution…
…POWER Interfaith, an activist group that focuses on environmental justice and other issues, filed a federal civil rights complaint with the EPA, saying the decision to green light the facility was an example of environmental racism.
More than 90% of residents in the census tract where the facility is located are Black, and in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, more than a third of people live below the poverty line. The neighborhood was already burdened by several other sources of air pollution, POWER’s complaint argued, principally SEPTA’s other operations, like the Midvale Bus Depot. The ZIP code containing the facility has one of the highest childhood asthma hospitalization rates in the city.
Read more from WHYY (PBS/NPR).
