TERMINOLOGY
Relating to GenPower’s Longview Power Plant

Term	Alternate Term(s)	Description	
Acid Deposition	 Acid Rain	Sulfuric and nitric acids formed by reactions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted to the atmosphere by sources such as coal-fired power plants.  These acids help destroy paint on cars, building materials (including irreplaceable buildings and statues), cause damage to trees at higher elevations, harm forest soils, and adversely affect surface water and the organisms that depend on it. 1    GenPower's proposed Longview plant will produce ~5,400 tons per year combined nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. 2	
Allowance Trading	Emissions Trading/ 
Emissions Offsets	An attempt to use market forces to reduce pollution.  An "allowance" authorizes the discharge of a certain quantity of a pollutant.  For example, one ton of nitrogen oxide emissions equals one allowance.  A source of such discharges (such as a power plant) can choose to buy additional allowances from other sources that have reduced their emissions, or the source can reduce its own emissions and sell its available allowances to another source.  "Allowance trading" is the buying and selling of allowances on the open market. 3  GenPower will likely have to purchase allowances for approximately 70% of its emissions.  If GenPower purchases 100% of its emissions allowances from other sources in Mon County, the net emissions for the County would not increase as a result of the Longview plant. 10	
Ash	Fly Ash and 
Bottom Ash	A coal combustion product that is either landfilled or sold for use in construction materials.  It may contain trace concentrations of arsenic, selenium, boron, and molybdenum. 4  Also see definitions for “fly ash,” “bottom ash,” and “particulate matter” below.	
BAT
BACT	Best Available Technology -or- Best Available Control Technology	As defined in the Clean Air Act, a control technology for reducing, to the maximum extent possible, every regulated criteria pollutant emitted from a new stationary source. 5	
Bottom Ash	 	Ash particles too large to be carried in the flue gases that cling to the boiler walls or fall to the bottom of the boiler.    It contains trace concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic (see "ash" above).	
Carbon Dioxide	CO2	The air permit does not require that Longview Power control Carbon Dioxide emissions, even though many scientists believe the biggest environmental concern facing the world today is Carbon Dioxide and global climate change. Carbon Dioxide emissions are estimated to range from 1,800,000 to 5,500,000 tons per year, depending on the reference used.	
Carbon Monoxide	CO	A colorless, odorless gas formed as a byproduct of burning coal, wood, gas, and other carbon fuels.  It is poisonous to humans and is a contributing factor to global warming.  The DAQ proposes to allow the Longview plant to emit up to 2,948 tons per year of carbon monoxide. 2	
Class I Area

Class II Area	 	The USEPA classified areas into three groups (Class I, II, and III Areas) according to the amount of growth they can sustain before significant air quality deterioration occurs.  Class I Areas (Dolly Sods, Otter Creek Wilderness Area, and Shenandoah National Park, for example) have the strictest requirements.  Class III Areas have the least strict emissions standards  Morgantown is located  in a Class II Area.  5	
Cooling Tower		Water is used to cool the equipment in the power plant.  This water in turn heats up and must be cooled before it can be reused or discharged.  Water is cooled by spraying it into the air inside a cooling tower.  	
DAQ	(West Virginia) Division of Air Quality	A division of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); DAQ has issued the draft air-quality permit to Longview Power	
DEP
WVDEP	(West Virginia) Dept. of Environmental Protection	The State's environmental regulatory authority that issues permits for air emissions and discharges to water.	
Development Authority	County Development Authority	A group of volunteers, most of whom are appointed by the Monongalia County Commission. Its mission is to encourage economic development, and in doing so, it buys and sells land, arranges financing, and sometimes provides direct subsidies.	
Emissions Offsets	Emissions Trading -or- Allowance Trading	Please see the earlier definition for "allowance trading."	
Emissions Stack		The tower through which the byproducts of burning coal will be emitted.  The Longview power plant's stack will rise an estimated 554 feet above land surface. 2  That will put the top of the stack at an elevation of approximately 900 feet above the Monongahela River (1,700 feet above mean sea level).	
EPA
USEPA	United States Environmental Protection Agency	The federal environmental regulatory authority.  USEPA has mandated that West Virginia and 22 other states decrease nitrogen oxide gas emissions to reduce high ozone levels along the east Coast of the U.S.	
FDA	Facilities Development Agreement	An agreement approved by the Mon County Commission and the Development Authority in November 2002, that sets forth some basic terms for the Longview project.  It is the first of three agreements, the other two being the Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Agreement and the Lease Agreement.	
Fluidized-Bed Combustion		"An advanced method for burning coal and other fuels while removing air emissions inside the sophisticated combustor system." 6  This method produces fewer emissions than older pulverized-coal boiler technology.  The Longview plant will use a pulverized-coal “supercritical” boiler. 2	
Fly Ash	 	Finer than bottom ash, fly ash is entrained in the power plant's exhaust gases until removed with particulate filters or emitted to the air.  Recovered fly ash is either sold for use in concrete, engineered fills, and grouts, or it is disposed of in landfills.  It contains trace concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic (see definitions for "ash" above and “particulate matter” below).	
Fort Martin Power Station		An active 1,107-megawatt coal-fired power plant owned and operated by Allegheny Power/ Allegheny Energy.  The plant was built over 30 years ago and is located north of Morgantown near Maidsville in Monongalia county.  The proposed Longview plant is to be located on a hill approximately one mile from the Fort Martin Power Station. 2  The Longview Power Plant will operate in addition to the Fort Martin plant.	
GenPower	 	The present owner of Longview Power, LLC.  GenPower was established in 1999 and is a private Massachusetts-based company with eleven employees that develops electric generating plants through the design, permitting and financing stages.  GenPower then sells the design and permit package to a separate builder-operator company.  Once construction begins, GenPower is no longer involved in the project.  One GenPower project developed under this model has been completed, two are under construction, and several others, including Longview Power in Monongalia County and another plant in McDowell County, West Virginia, are in the development process.	
Ground Water		The Longview plant proposes to use ground water from nearby coal mines in its process.  This mine water (sometimes referred to as mine pools) must be treated before the power plant can use it.  GenPower expects to use reverse osmosis (RO) to treat this water.    Questions remain as to what GenPower will do with the wastewater generated from treatment.	
Longview	 	The current name (after a few name changes) of GenPower's 600-megawatt power plant proposed for northern Monongalia County near the presently active Fort Martin Power Station.  Former names include Fort Martin and Robinson Run.	
MACT	Maximum Achievable Control Technology	For new sources, the emissions control technology used must be at least as stringent as the level of control achieved by the single best performing source in that industry.	
MCDA	Monongalia County Development Authority	Please see the earlier definition for "Development Authority."	
MEA	Morgantown Energy Associates	Also known as the "Beechurst Power Plant" a 68-megawatt power station on Beechurst Avenue in Morgantown.  It provides power for heating and cooling West Virginia University.  Excess electricity is sold.	
MEPCO 	 	A local coal company, controlled by Morgantown businessman James Laurita Jr., with a mine located immediately adjacent to the proposed site.  GenPower/Longview Power has proposed using coal from this mine for the Longview power plant.	
Mercury	Hg	Found in coal, this toxic heavy metal is released during the process of burning coal to produce electricity.  It accumulates in the tissue of fish and other animals.  It affects brain function in humans, with children and senior adults being the most susceptible.  The USEPA has found that coal-burning electric utilities are the largest single source of human-caused mercury emitted to the air in our country. 9  The DAQ proposes to allow the Longview plant to emit up to 127.9 pounds per year of mercury. 2	
Mine Water	 Mine Pools	Water that has accumulated in coal mines.  Longview plans to pump subsurface water from nearby mines, treating the water by reverse osmosis (RO), and using the water for cooling.  Questions remain as to what GenPower will do with the wastewater generated from treatment.	
NAAQS	National Ambient Air Quality Standards	Air-quality standards set by the USEPA for pollutants considered to be harmful to public health and the environment.	
Non-attainment Area		A location that does not meet the USEPA air quality standard for ozone, carbon monoxide, or certain particulate matter.  Although smog and ozone nonattainment is often associated with large cities, the Morgantown area is close to becoming a nonattainment area for ozone.	
NOx
“nocks”	Nitrogen Oxides	Nitrogen oxides or “nocks” (NOx), are contributing factors to high ozone levels (smog) and acid rain.  Coal-fired power plants are a major source of NOX.  The DAQ proposes to allow the Longview plant to emit up to 2,142 tons per year of nitrogen oxides. 2	
NPDES	National Pollution Discharge Elimination System	A permit to discharge to surface water, administered by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).	
Ozone (O3)	Ground-Level Ozone	A colorless gas formed by chemical reactions of carbon monoxide, methane, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the presence of sunlight.  Ozone is the major component of haze and smog.  Ground-level ozone is a major health and environmental concern.  Not only is smog ugly, it can damage the lungs and make them more sensitive to other irritants.  This should not be confused with the hole in the ozone layer.  Ozone pollution produced from motor vehicle and power plant emissions will never reach the stratosphere where ozone helps to protect the Earth from ultraviolet rays. 7	
Particulate Matter	 PM10	Soot, dirt, smoke, and dust: particles less than 10 microns in size (small enough to breathe).  Approximately 99% of ash is trapped within the power plant.  The remaining 1% that is discharged through the stack is enriched in mercury, arsenic, zinc and uranium.  When inhaled, particles of this size remain in the lungs. 8  The DAQ proposes to allow the Longview plant to emit up to 110 pounds per hour (482 tons per year of fine particulate matter [PM10]). 2	
PILOT	Payment In Lieu of Taxes	A method whereby normal County property taxes are replaced by a lesser payment to the County.  Longview Power has such an agreement with Monongalia County.	
PSC	Public Service Commission 	The West Virginia entity that regulates utilities.	
PSD	Prevention of Significant Deterioration 	A Clean Air Act requirement for new and modified stationary sources in attainment areas.  A preconstruction permit must be obtained demonstrating that best available control technologies (BACT) will be used to control pollution emissions. 5	
Pulverized-Coal Burning Technology		An older technology for burning coal in a power plant.  This method produces more emissions than fluidized-bed combustion (see definition above).  Pulverized coal technology will be used at GenPower’s Longview plant. 2	
Robinson Run		An earlier name for GenPower’s proposed plant.  The project is presently called Longview.	
SIP-Call

NOx SIP-Call	State Implementation Plan (SIP) (also see "Allowance Trading" above)	A plan submitted to the USEPA by each state demonstrating how that state will implement, maintain, and enforce National Ambient Air Quality Standards (see "NAAQS" above). 5  To maintain West Virginia’s overall NOx budget, affected sources are required to remain at or below a certain number of emissions allowances.  Sources that emit less than their allocated number of allowances can sell their extra emissions allowances to sources that emit more than their allocation. 3  See "allowance trading" above. 	
SO2  , SOx  

oxides of sulfur	Sulfur Dioxide

(SO & SO2 = SOx 
or “socks”)	Released to the air when coal is burned; it can affect breathing and aggravate existing respiratory problems.  It is a major contributor to acid rain.  The DAQ proposes to allow the Longview plant to emit up to 3,215 tons per year of sulfur dioxide (SO2).2	
Source	Stationary Source	In terms of air quality standards, anything that emits regulated pollutants.  A power plant is an example of a stationary source, and a car is an example of a mobile source.	
TIF	Tax Increment Financing	An alternative to Payment in Lieu of Taxes (see “PILOT” above), this potential tax break became available in West Virginia after the passage of Amendment One.  Under TIF, GenPower (and its successor company) would own the property, but most of the taxes it would ordinarily owe the County would go toward paying off bonds used to finance the project.  The County would receive little or no tax money until the bonds are paid off – typically 25 to 30 years.	
Volatile Organic Compounds	VOCs	Carbon compounds (not including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, and ammonium carbonate) with a relatively high boiling point.  The DAQ proposes to allow the Longview plant to emit up to 192,720 pounds per year of VOCs, with an estimated 1.48 tons per year of that total being benzene, a human carcinogen.