. >> reporter: 11 years ago elizabeth chimento noticed a strange residue outside. lives outside the genon power plant and was the first to raise questions about its emissions. the current owners say publicly they're shuttering the plant because it's too expensive to keep running, but this group of elected officials and residents celebrating the power plant's demise point to elizabeth -- >> you have to keep tabs on everything. >> reporter: and paul hertel. they're curiosity grew into activism. they educated themselves about coal-fired plants and emissions and then commissioned three studies. one of the most important studies the two commissioned was from a local scientists who disproved what the company was saying about something called downwash. instead of pollutant particles going up into the atmosphere the scientists found they were actually coming down into the neighborhood. >> it proved that more than 1,200 hours a year this plant was emitting sulfur dioxide beyond the national standards. >> reporter: the downwash was due in part to the short stacks required be

. >> reporter: but until the last 15,000 tons of coal is gone elizabeth chimento will be keeping track. peggy fox, 9 news now. >> clean-up will take about 18 months at the plant. most of genon's 120 workers have transferred or retired and there's no word on what's next for that valuable waterfront property. >>> in maryland a calvert county judge is deciding whether dominion resources can start using hydraulic fracturing techniques to increase its natural gas exports. the company wants to spend up to $3 billion for those upgrades, but the sierra club says this process will harm the chesapeake bay and nearby calvert cliff state park. >>> a slew of cases for the u.s. supreme court this season. the justices wasted no time getting back to work today. they started the session by hearing arguments about whether businesses or individuals can be sued in the u.s. for conduct on foreign soil. the justices also declined to hear arguments about redistricting in illinois, the use of full body scanners for airport security and a challenge to a federal rule barring development in national forests. thi

. >> reporter: 11 years ago elizabeth chimento noticed a strange residue outside. lives within the site of the