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Sunday, August 26, 2007
Environment - More on: Pollution and justice: Kentucky judge orders state to rehear permit for coal-fired power plant
Following up on this ILB entry from August 10th about a power plant permit in Kentucky, where I wrote: "Although the permit process is different, the facts echo many of the same themes as the NW Indiana situation. In this case, however, the pollution would originate in Kentucky and Indiana would be impacted."
Mark Wilson of the Evansville Courier & Press reported yesterday:
Kentucky environmental officials have decided to appeal a judge's decision ordering the state to redo parts of the air pollution permit for Peabody's proposed Thoroughbred power plant in Muhlenberg County.The Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet filed the notice of appeal Thursday — putting plant opponents on notice they will appeal the decision to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. * * *
Peabody Energy has been proposing to spend $2.5 billion to build the 1,500-megawatt, coal-burning power plant since early 2001.
While state officials have filed the notice of appeal, an actual appeal with specific areas of contention has not yet been filed. Peabody, which is joining in the appeal, also offered no specific areas on which it would seek to overturn the judge's decision.
"We're evaluating the court's decision and the options that are available to us," said Beth Sutton, a Peabody spokeswoman. "We believe that the record clearly shows Thoroughbred is designed to achieve state and federal regulations to protect the environment."
However, in his order related to the Thoroughbred project, Franklin (Ky.) Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate ruled:
o The state should have required Peabody to look at using low-sulfur coal (instead of locally mined polluting coal) in its evaluation of the Best Available Control Technology for reducing pollution;
o The state should have looked at how the power plant's pollution, in combination with already existing pollution, would affect the environment;
o "Commercially and recreationally significant" vegetation could be affected;
o The state's analysis on how the plant might affect air quality was incomplete because it didn't include all the potential sources of pollution at the plant;
o State officials wrongly based the power plant's permit on what other utility companies had been able to do to reduce pollution instead of considering what could be done specifically with Thoroughbred.
He also noted that the "sheer magnitude" of the project would cause its environmental effects to be felt not only in Kentucky but potentially other states too.
Environmentalists argue the plant would emit tons of pollution that would harm Tri-State air quality and the region's ability to meet national standards, especially if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passes a stricter standard for ozone pollution.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 26, 2007 01:00 PM
Posted to Environment