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Environment

Basin Electric Power Cooperative's policy is to manage our businesses in an environmentally responsible manner. Protecting the quality and diversity of our environment has been a hallmark of our corporate philosophy and power plant operations for more than four decades. We continually strive to improve our environmental performance and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

From the coal mine to the power plant, and from the power plant to the home, Basin Electric has invested in a system designed to meet future energy needs of our consumers while protecting the environment.

We are committed to the people we serve... and to the land we love: rural America.

Protecting the environment

The founders of Basin Electric embraced a philosophy about environmental protection that can be summed up like this: "… Always have… always will."

Basin Electric, as a regional power supplier, is part of an environmental effort that began in the late 1950s. At that time wholesale electric power came from federal hydroelectric plants along river systems. Hydroelectric energy was and is clean and renewable.

The problem then and now is there isn't enough of it. So distribution cooperatives pooled their power requirements to benefit from the efficiency gained from large-scale electric production. Together, they organized Basin Electric Power Cooperative and built low-sulfur, coal-based plants in Wyoming and North Dakota. Our tradition has been to reclaim mined land, reduce emissions and particulates, control odor and minimize environmental impacts to water, soil and air.

We combine coal-based and other generation with power from hydroelectric generators to provide our consumers with electricity. Basin Electric's mix of coal, hydro, distributed and renewable power is some of the most reliable, clean energy produced in America today.

Environmental protection is a Basin Electric core value. Simply put: our facilities run 24 hours, 7 days a week in the communities where we live, breath, work, raise our families and enjoy the great outdoors. We produce power where we live, and we are committed to living in rural America – a vital rural America with sustainable economies fueled by low-cost, regional power.

As both owners and consumers of primarily coal-based energy, Basin Electric directors, staff and members have a stake in ensuring that our water, air, and lands are kept pristine for our children and future generations, while supporting rural America’s economies and communities.

We support the spirit of environmental protection laws.

• We support sustainable initiatives that protect the environment and benefit our communities and economies.
• We support development of clean coal technologies and we are actively engaged in promoting this research.
• We practice environmental stewardship by managing our operations in full compliance with regulatory requirements.

Always have, always will.

What it takes

• More than $815 million has been invested to operate the power plants in an environmentally sound manner.
• More than $76 million is required annually to operate environmental protection equipment.
• Each of Basin Electric's coal-based generating plants has an environmental coordinator who is responsible for environmental compliance and maintaining the plant's continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) system.
• The CEM measures emissions of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, opacity (clarity), nitrogen oxide and flow. These readings are sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quarterly for compliance review.
• Basin Electric and all subsidiary facilities are 100 percent environmentally compliant.

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• Environment
• Climate Change
• Compliance
• Efficiency and Conservation
• Electric Technologies
• Safety and Health
• Glossary

Leadership

"Basin Electric Power Cooperative, because of its progressive membership, employees, and Board of Directors, has consistently been the leader in articulating concepts that soon become the benchmark for the power supply industry. Your leadership in impact alleviation, mined land, reclamation and overall efforts towards minimizing environmental degradation is a record in which you deserve to take pride."

~ U.S. Senator Quentin N. Burdick (ND) 1977 Basin Electric Annual Meeting

Coal: A reliable choice

COAL must be part of the nation's energy mix because:

• It’s abundant, domestic, and the supply is secure,
• The overall costs of coal are lower than other generation fuel sources, and
• Technology breakthroughs are making coal use cleaner