Commonwealth Court Upholds DEP's $1.5 Million Fine Against PPL for Fly Ash Spill

WILKES-BARRE, Pa., May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of
Environmental Protection announced a settlement today in Commonwealth Court
with PPL Martins Creek LLC that includes a $1.5 million civil penalty against
the company for a fly ash spill at its Lower Mt. Bethel Township, Northampton
County, electric generating station in 2005.

In addition to the civil penalty, the settlement addresses the company's
continued spill assessment and cleanup responsibilities should any remaining
ash deposits be discovered.

The settlement resolves the department's Commonwealth Court lawsuit that was
filed in November 2005 following a failure in one of the utility's ash basins
on Aug. 23, 2005. Because of the failure, approximately 100 million gallons of
fly ash were discharged to the Delaware River.

DEP required PPL immediately to conduct a major cleanup operation, which was
done under the department's supervision over the next several months.

DEP also initiated a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process to
assess short-, medium- and long-term impacts of the spill on the river and its
ecosystems. The NRDA team includes representatives of state and federal
agencies and is still evaluating water quality, biological and ecological
impacts to the river as a result of the spill.

The settlement approved today by Commonwealth Court allows for a 120-day
comment period on the final NRDA report for the citizens' group that
intervened in DEP's lawsuit.

The agency had previously accepted comments on the then-proposed settlement
for a 60-day period in March 2007.

For further information on the spill, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us, scroll
down the left side to the state map and click on "Northeast Region."

CONTACT: Mark Carmon
+1-570-826-2551

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Mark Carmon of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
+1-570-826-2511