Monticello Coal Plant Shutting Down

TITUS COUNTY — Environmental groups are celebrating the announced closing of a massive coal-burning power plant in Northeast Texas. The Sierra Club calls it “one of America’s dirtiest coal plants.” The energy company Luminant announced late last week that it will retire its Monticello facility near Mount Pleasant. The Monticello Steam Electric Station is a 3-unit plant that uses lignite from coal mines in Texas and Wyoming. Luminant blames the closing on an abundance of cheap natural gas. The Sierra Club says Monticello by itself causes or contributes to more than 5,800 asthma attacks, 156 premature deaths, and more than 23,000 lost or restricted work days every year. Luminant says the plant will shutter in January, with about 200 employees losing their jobs.