Mirant Responds to Alexandria, VA City Council's Demand to Disclose Competitive Business Information
March 20 2006 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
- Company cooperates fully with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) regarding successful, safe emission reduction testing and
processes at Potomac River plant ATLANTA, March 20
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mirant (NYSE:MIR) today issued the
following statements in response to the Alexandria, Virginia, City
Council's demand that the company publicly disclose competitive
business information. The information pertains to Mirant's
successful efforts to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions at its
Potomac River plant. "Mirant has provided to the City Council of
Alexandria full disclosure of all emissions and ground level
concentrations that have resulted from our testing of innovative,
new technologies at the Potomac River plant," said S. Linn
Williams, executive vice president and general counsel of Mirant
Corporation. The testing has been successful in reducing emissions
of sulfur dioxide. "We have provided ALL information to the EPA and
the Virginia DEQ," Williams continued. "The only information that
Mirant provided to EPA and DEQ but has withheld from the City
Council is confidential, competitive information about the process
and technology, which is still in development and for which Mirant
is considering applying for a patent. "As is standard practice,
these agencies have agreed to protect business information that is
proprietary and has nothing to do with emissions levels. Even if
Mirant had not done so, the agencies would have disclosed, or
insisted that Mirant disclose, any information regarding emissions,
and it is preposterous and irresponsible for the City Council to
suggest otherwise. The political posturing is motivated by upcoming
city elections and not by legitimate concerns regarding
environmental quality. "We have invested substantial time, effort,
creativity and money in our process and technology, and it seems
unfair to try to make us disclose that to our competitors before
we're ready. That's why the law protects business information. We
also think that Mirant and the Virginia DEQ have interpreted the
law correctly. But we are willing to submit the question to a judge
and, of course, to abide by the decision," Williams said. Mirant is
seeking solutions for reducing emissions. One of the engineering
solutions Mirant is working on for the Potomac River plant involves
"trona," a benign, naturally occurring mineral with properties
similar to baking soda. It is not volatile, flammable or
combustible, and it has been approved for use by the EPA and the
Virginia DEQ. The results of the tests have been successful. The
use of trona reduces sulfur dioxide emissions while creating no
other hazards or emissions and posing no risk to the community.
"Trona may not solve all sulfur dioxide issues at all plants,"
noted Williams, "but it is one option that we are considering to
reduce emissions." "We cannot understand why anyone on the City
Council could reasonably oppose efforts to reduce emissions. If the
City Council were really interested in reducing emissions it should
be helping us. We are concerned that some parties are, in truth,
interested in destroying the value of private property so that it
can be turned over on the cheap to developers. That's not the
American way, and it's not legal," Williams said. "Over just the
last 18 months the City Council has already wasted nearly $1
million of the taxpayers' money on lawsuits and political
harassment -- the latest lawsuit resulted in a finding by a
Virginia court that the City Council had been 'unreasonable and
arbitrary.' Mirant will be a good corporate citizen, but it will
insist on its rights as a citizen. "The City Council has thus far
seemed more interested in fights than in reducing emissions. We are
interested in reducing emissions so that we can run this plant to
support a reliable supply of electricity for the nation's welfare
and security while we also comply with environmental laws." The
Potomac River plant has always operated in compliance with all its
emissions permits, but in August 2005 a "worst case" computer model
suggested that it had potential, modeled exceedances of certain
emissions for a few days a year at a few areas near the plant.
Mirant immediately began operating at a reduced level so as to
comply fully with the model, and immediately began to work in full
cooperation with the federal and state agencies to remediate these
modeled exceedances. Mirant is now running the plant in compliance
with an order from the U.S. Department of Energy to support energy
reliability, and in compliance with all environmental laws, while
further developing this innovative solution to sulfur dioxide
emissions. "We would like to go about our business, and the
nation's business, of reducing emissions and providing reliable
electricity, not to have to continue to fight with the City
Council," concluded Williams. "Indeed, if the technology works
we'll agree to share with the City of Alexandria any money we make
from it." Mirant is a competitive energy company that produces and
sells electricity in the United States, the Caribbean, and the
Philippines. Mirant owns or leases more than 17,500 megawatts of
electric generating capacity globally. The company operates an
asset management and energy marketing organization from its
headquarters in Atlanta. For more information, please visit
http://www.mirant.com/. Stockholder inquiries: 678 579 7777
DATASOURCE: Mirant CONTACT: Media, Dave Thompson, +1-678-579-5298,
or , or Steven Arabia, +1-301-669-8149, or , or Investor Relations,
Mary Ann Arico, +1-678-579-7553, or , or Sarah Stashak,
+1-678-579-6940, or , all of Mirant Web site:
http://www.mirant.com/
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