NEW YORK, NY — “Electric utility American Electric Power Co. spent $2 million lobbying the government in the first quarter on clean air and clean water rules, according to a recent disclosure report.
That’s about half of the $3.6 million that the company spent in the fourth quarter of last year, and about 40 percent less than the $3.3 million it spent in the first quarter of 2010.
The Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of tightening clean air standards, reducing the amount of pollutants such as mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that utilities and others are allowed to release into the air. Two-thirds of AEP’s electric generation capacity comes from coal-fired power plants, a major source of these pollutants.
AEP and other coal-heavy utilities have argued that the clean-air rules are tightening too fast, leading to high costs for equipment that removes pollutants from smoke.”
— Associated Press
