Transcript of Press Conference Announcing Settlement in United States Et Al vs. American Elec...(from these plants. We estimate that t...),Health

We estimate that the annual benefits to public health and the environment once pollution controls are installed will include a savings of approximately $32 billion per year in health-related costs associated with respiratory and cardiopulmonary illnesses, including asthma and heart attacks and the prevention of at least 24,000 instances per year in which children experience lower respiratory problems.

The benefits to the environment from this settlement include cleaner air in the Midwest and North East, a reduction in haze and smog formation and a reduction in the acid deposition that harms our forest and surface waters.

In addition, AEP has committed to spend $60 million on projects to mitigate the adverse effects of its past emissions. These projects will include, for example, as Ron highlighted, the purchase of ecologically sensitive lands as well as emission reductions from tugs, barges and trucks in the Ohio River valley.

These results demonstrate the resounding success of our efforts to reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants. All told, our settlements with utilities to date will result in annual emission reductions totally 1.8 million tons of SO(2) and NO(x). Those are annual emission reductions.

We have secured investments of over $10 billion in pollution control, $50 million in civil penalties and an additional $175 million for projects that will mitigate the environmental effects of past emissions. These are historic achievements. They will benefit the environment and public health across a wide section of our country for many years to come.

And as Ron mentioned, it is important to recognize the United States did not achieve this settlement alone. EPA and our colleagues at the Department of Justice partnered with eight northeastern states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maryland and Rhode Island. And we also worked closely with a coali
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