Blue Lake Power, LLC is a wood-fired steam generation plant producing electricity for sale to PG&E and other customers. The plant is located at the northwestern portion of California within the County of Humboldt and is about 20 miles northwest of Eureka, the County seat, in the City of Blue Lake. The location address is 200 Taylor Way, Blue Lake, CA 95525.

Current Blue Lake Power, LLC (BLP) Title V Operating Permit:

Initial Proposed Consent Decree - US EPA and NCUAQMD v. Blue Lake Power LLC (D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-2-1-11038)

On February 26, 2016, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed consent decree with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in the lawsuit entitled the United States and North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District v. Blue Lake Power, LLC, Civil Action No. 3:16-cv-00961.

The United States and the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District ("District") filed this lawsuit under the Clean Air Act. The complaint seeks injunctive relief and civil penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act's Prevention of Significant Deterioration provisions, 42 U.S.C. 7470-92, and the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District Rules at Defendant Blue Lake Power, LLC's biomass-fired electric generating plant in Blue Lake, California. Specifically, the complaint alleges that, when the defendant restarted the plant in 2010, it failed to obtain appropriate permits and failed to install and operate required pollution control devices to reduce emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and/or particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns (PM 10) at its facility.

On March 4, 2016, a public notice was published in the Federal Register (81 FR 11591, Page 11591-11592, Document #2016-04721, (https://federalregister.gov/a/2016-04721). The publication of the notice opened a period for public comment on the initially proposed consent decree.

Revised Proposed Consent Decree

Upon review of public comments on the Initial Proposed Consent Decree, the DOJ, EPA, and the District provided the court with a Revised Proposed Consent Decree on September 22, 2016. A Motion to Enter the Revised Proposed Consent Decree as the final judgment in the matter was made in addition to responding to issues raised by commenters.

Final Court-Approved Consent Decree

The court approved the Consent Decree on February 23, 2017.

Under the Consent Decree, the following documents are provided as they are approved: