In November and December, the Ohio EPA helped five of the state’s industrial plants avoid stringent greenhouse gas rules that took effect January 2. One was the Killen plant owned by Dayton Power & Light. Scene obtained internal EPA e-mails outlining the strategy.
“I want to give you guys a heads up on some permit hearings we are going to need. These are all for permits that need to be final before the end of the year in order to avoid the uncertainties associated with new greenhouse gas regulations,” wrote Mike Hopkins, the assistant chief of permitting for the Ohio EPA’s air pollution control division, in a November 3 e-mail to Carol Hester, chief of the EPA’s public interest center.
Two days later, permitting manager Andrew Hall sent the following e-mail to Cindy Charles, director of the local air pollution agency near the Killen plant in southern Ohio:
