The pleas to misdemeanor charges came as the Greene County
District Attorney dismissed the felony charges against the
protestors. Last June, federal prosecutors filed but then dismissed
felony charges against the protestors.
“The prosecutors agreed to drop the unwarranted felony charges,
now the state of Pennsylvania has an obligation to hold Allegheny
Energy responsible for its continuing violations of the Clean Air
Act on behalf of the residents of Greene and Fayette counties,”
said John Passancantando, executive director of Greenpeace in the
United States, in a statement issued after the sentencing. “These
peaceful protesters were always prepared to accept responsibility
for their action. It is, however, a miscarriage of justice that
these men and women have been sentenced to jail for calling
attention to the harmful impacts of coal-fired power plants, while
Allegheny Energy routinely violates federal and state law with no
accountability.”
The four women and two men climbed the smokestack and hung a
banner reading, “Warning: The Bush Energy Plan Kills: Clean Energy
Now,” because of the imminent danger to Pennsylvania residents. A
2004 report released by ABT Associates, a consulting firm used by
the Bush administration, found that Pennsylvania leads the country
in premature deaths from power plant pollution with 1,825 deaths
per year. The ABT report concluded that the Hatfield’s Ferry plant
alone was responsible for 237 premature deaths annually.
“The Hatfield’s Ferry power plant is
one of the worst polluters in the country, and President Bush’s
energy policy lets it get away with it,” said Renee Blanchard, one
of the six defendants, prior to being sentenced. “Dirty power like
this coal plant is poisoning children in Southwestern Pennsylvania
and around the country, and I’m proud that I took action to tell
Allegheny to clean up its act.”
