Three major coal burning steam power plants are located on the banks of the Black Warrior River: Miller Steam Plant, Gorgas Plant and Greene County Steam Plant.  Miller Steam Plant, on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior near Birmingham, releases approximately 1,589 pounds of mercury a year according to a 2003 EPA report.  

Alabama Power’s owner, Southern Company, has spent millions lobbying for weaker environmental laws while simultaneously spending millions to “greenwash” their image with misleading advertisements.  In March 2001, a Southern Company lobbyist emailed the Bush Administration requesting reform of the New Source Review Codes of the Clean Air Act and related enforcement.  Southern Company succeeded as the Environmental Protection Agency retreated from high-profile enforcement actions against Alabama Power, Southern Company, and other polluters.

Alabama Power's MILLER Steam Plant on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. (Jefferson Co.)

© Nelson Brooke 2004

   Alabama Power's GORGAS Plant on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. (Walker Co.)     

© Bryan Burgess, Friends of Rural Alabama

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