GenOn Potomac River Generating Station

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Virginia DEQ Issued Consent Order to GenOn PRGS

The Virginia DEQ executed a consent order issued to GenOn Potomac River LLC regarding violations of the operating permit that happened at the Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) located in Alexandria. As a result, GenOn agrees to pay a civil charge of $280,704 within the next 30 days.

Violations related to this consent order include the following:

The CEMS (Continuous Emissions Monitoring System) data submitted by the plant indicated that on six occasions during June-July 2011, the 30-day rolling average NOx emissions were 0.28 lb/MMBtu, compared to the permitted limit of 0.27 lb/MMBtu as stipulated by the Permit Condition 28.

No water fogging system was installed within the enclosure of the bottom ash silo, which violates the Permit Condition 10. Please note that this is different from the fogging system installed on the fly ash loading areas as part of the Phase I project.

Grid Operator PJM (Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland Interconnections) found no reliability issues related to the planned retirement of the Potomac River Generating Station
The City and GenOn signed an Amendment to the Project Schedule and Agreement on August 29, 2011 which stipulates the retirement of the Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) on October 1, 2012, subject to PJM finding that the facility is no longer needed for reliability as of the date of the retirement. Per this Amendment, GenOn sent a letter to PJM Interconnection, LLC, to request the deactivation (i.e., retirement) of the Potomac River Generating Station on October 1, 2012. Responding to this request, PJM performed a detailed analysis of the PJM Transmission System and did not identify any reliability violations resulting from the requested deactivation of the PRGS facility. Similarly, PEPCO Transmission carried out the same analysis for its lower voltage system and found no reliability violations. The PJM analysis thus concluded that all five generating units of PRGS could actually be deactivated at any time. This clears the path for PRGS facility to be retired by the agreed upon date of October 1, 2012. Click here to see the written response from PJM.
MCMG Meeting was held on September 29, 2011 to Discuss the City/GenOn Amended Agreement Signed on August 29, 2011.
- Agenda and handouts
Potomac River Generating Station to Close
The City of Alexandria and GenOn Energy reached an agreement to permanently close the company’s Potomac River Generating Station, which began operating in 1949. Under the terms of the agreement, GenOn agreed to retire the generating station by October 1, 2012, or, if the plant was needed beyond that date for reliability purposes, as soon as it would be no longer needed. The Mirant Community Monitoring Group met on September 29 to update members of the public on the agreement to permanently close the GenOn Power River Generating Station. For more information on the closure of the generating station, read the news release. Click here to see the signed agreement.

About GenOn Potomac River Generating Station

GenOn Potomac River, LLC (Mirant) owns and operates the Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) in the City of Alexandria. The PRGS is a coal-fired electric generating plant with a generating capacity of 482 megawatts. It is one of the largest industrial facilities in Alexandria. Because of the age of this plant, the impacts on the local community from its emissions and its compliance record, the City Council and the community has continued concerns about its ongoing operations.

The purpose of this web page is to provide the interested citizens the most updated information regarding Council’s Actions, Staff’s Actions, Actions taken by regulatory authorities and other relevant information of interest. The website is divided into several categories as indicated by the various links on the left side. New and updated information will be posted periodically as it becomes available. Announcements of upcoming meetings will also be posted on this website. Please click on the links below or to the left to access the most recent information available.

Mirant Community Monitoring Group (MCMG)

MCMG (MCMG) was established by the City Council in 2004 to serve as a central information-receiving and monitoring group for issues involving the Mirant Potomac River Generating Station. The group is composed of eight members: Poul Hertel, Elizabeth Chimento, a representative from North Old Town Independent Citizens Association (NOTICe), a representative from Marina Towers, a representative from the Northeast Citizens Association, a representative from the Environmental Policy Commission, and two members of Council: Del Pepper and Paul Smedberg.

The primary objectives of MCMG are to receive reports and track the progress involving Mirant's ongoing permit and regulatory issues, its compliance with the consent decree and consent order, and to act as a forum to discuss technical issues such as the downwash modeling. Members of the monitoring group provide feedback to City Council and City staff and assist in the dissemination of information to the wider stakeholder community. Such dissemination involves community meetings and/or information sessions hosted by the monitoring group.

MCMG/Mirant Materials Archive

MCMG Members

City Councilwoman Redella S. Pepper
City Councilman Paul C. Smedberg
Environmental Policy Commission Peter Pennington, Citizen Member
North Old Town Independent Citizens Association (NOTICe) Roger Waud, President of NOTICe,
North East Citizens Association Steve Troxel, Member
Marina Towers Mary Harris, Member, Marina Tower Condo Association
Citizen member Poul Hertel
Citizen member Elizabeth Chimento