Reliant Energy wants to build a second smokestack at its Cheswick Power Plant to help reduce emissions. If the Allegheny County Health Department approves the company's request, the new smokestack could reduce sulfur dioxide, mercury, hydrochloric acid and hydrogen fluoride emissions by about 90 percent, health department spokesman Guillermo Cole said. "It would be a major improvement if it's installed and operated," Cole said. It's a voluntary move the company is making to try to improve the plant, according to Pat Hammond, a spokeswoman at Reliant Energy's headquarters in Texas. "It's called a flue gas desulfurization system, or scrubber," Hammond said. "We believe it will provide a lot of environmental and economic benefits in the community." A 2004 emission inventory report showed the Cheswick plant is responsible for 80 percent of all sulfur dioxide emissions in Allegheny County, Cole said. Sulfur dioxide contributes to respiratory illnesses, particularly in the elderly and children and aggravates heart and lung disease, according the Environmental Protection Agency. The compound also contributes to acid rain, the agency said. "So if they install and utilize the technology, it would put a significant dent in the sulfur dioxide in the county," Cole said. "Also it would be a significant reduction in mercury and hydrochloric acid and hydrogen fluoride emissions." Hammond said that the plan still is in preliminary stages, but the company expects to announce further details in the coming weeks. The county health department, which is the regulatory agency for air quality standards in the county, is still reviewing Reliant's application. "It can take a few months or longer to review an application, typically, for a project of this magnitude," said Cole. The estimated start-up date for the project is 2009, according to the application. The new stack will be 552 feet tall. The stack at the Cheswick Power Plant, which actually is in Springdale, is about 750 feet tall, according to borough officials. "At this time, there's no indication they will take down the existing stack," Cole said. If the health department issues a permit for the project, the public will have at least 30 days to review and comment on the proposal, Cole said.

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