April 4, 2005
Ohio Edison Company and Pennsylvania Power Company, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp., reach settlement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and three states that will result in significant reductions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides at FirstEnergy’s generating plants.
On March 18, it was announced that Willkie client Ohio Edison Company and Pennsylvania Power Company, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp., have reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and three states that will result in significant reductions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides at FirstEnergy’s generating plants. The agreement, upon final approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, will resolve all issues related to various parties’ actions against the company’s W. H. Sammis Plant in the pending Clean Air Act New Source Review case. The March 19 edition of The New York Times called the settlement “one of the most significant settlements ever for cleaning the air.” The company stated that an estimated $1.1 billion investment in environmental improvements is consistent with its long-term financial planning, with nearly all of the expenditures expected to be capital additions and depreciated over a period of years. Partner E. Donald Elliott and associates Carrie Jenks and Alexander Schmandt comprised the Willkie team negotiating the settlement. Based in Akron, Ohio, FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company with subsidiaries and affiliates involved in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, as well as energy management and other energy-related services. Its seven electric utility operating companies comprise the nation’s fifth-largest electric system, with 4.4 million customers served within a 36,100-square-mile area of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.