FirstEnergy Settles Shippingport Pollution Suit

FirstEnergy Corp. has agreed to continue improving pollution controls and monitoring to settle a federal lawsuit concerning a coal-fired power plant in western Pennsylvania.

Environmental group PennFuture and nearby resident Ralph Hysong, of Raccoon Township, sued in 2007 claiming the Bruce Mansfield plant in Shippingport violated federal emissions standards more than 250 times since 2002.

The parties actually settled the suit in August, but only publicized the settlement Thursday.

The plaintiffs and FirstEnergy agree that emissions have improved and that incidents of “stack rain” — chemical particles that coated cars and homes downwind — are dwindling. FirstEnergy will pay the plaintiffs’ $310,000 in legal fees under the settlement.