Jul. 13--By Thomas Content, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Two environmental groups said Tuesday they plan to sue Wisconsin Public Service under the Clean Air Act over emissions from its coal-fired power plant in Green Bay.

The groups, Clean Wisconsin and Sierra Club, filed a notice of intent to sue the plant after they reviewed quarterly reports that the northeastern Wisconsin utility filed with the state Department of Natural Resources.

"They've been over their limits for the past five years," said David Bender, a lawyer representing the groups.

At issue are periods when the Pulliam power plant in downtown Green Bay exceeded limits on opacity, the thickness of the gases emitted from the plant's smokestack.

But exceeding those limits isn't a permit violation, said Ed Newman, environment manager at Wisconsin Public Service.

"DNR looks at that in concert with your particulate emissions and says, 'OK, if you're in compliance in excess of 99 percent of the time on particulate limits, you're in compliance; you're OK,'" Newman said.

A DNR representative wasn't available for comment Tuesday.

The groups want to put pressure on the utility to add environmental controls at Pulliam.

Wisconsin Public Service recently announced plans to add more such controls at a different coal-fired power plant, the Weston plant near Wausau.

Bender said a federal lawsuit on the issue could be filed within 60 days.

Also Tuesday, Wisconsin Public Service said its customers used a record amount of electricity Monday, as temperatures reached the upper 80s and low 90s across north-central and northeastern Wisconsin.

The utility has set three new records for electricity use this summer.

Monday's record was 2,295 megawatts, 1 percent higher than the high set two weeks ago.

The electric demand of We Energies, based in Milwaukee, was far from a record level Monday and Tuesday, according to a spokeswoman.

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