Denying Air Permits for Coal Fired Generators

Denying Air Permits for Coal Fired Generators



October 2007

 Concerned about clean air and 
global warming, Roderick Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of 
Health and Environment, KDHE, has denied an air quality permit for two 
proposed coal-fired generators at the Sunflower Electric Power Corporation 
plant near Holcomb in western Kansas. 
The decision marks the first time a U.S. power plant proposal has been 
rejected for its potential contribution to climate change. 
"After careful consideration of my responsibility to protect the public 
health and environment from actual, threatened or potential harm from air 
pollution, I have decided to deny the Sunflower Electric Power Corporation 
application for an air quality permit," said Bremby. 
"I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about 
the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate 
change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do 
nothing," he said. 
It was designed to be the largest coal-fired power plant in the United 
States, to be built at the cost of $3.6 billion. But the power plant with 
its two 700-megawatt generators has been the subject of months of heated 
controversy. 
Supporters say the new generating capacity would boost the Kansas economy 
and provide long-term inexpensive power. Opponents such as the Sierra Club 
argue that the plant's carbon dioxide and other emissions would harm the 
environment and Kansans' health. They contend that a mix of wind and 
natural gas power would be a better choice. 
Sunflower's president and chief executive officer Earl Watkins, said, "We 
are disappointed with the Secretary's arbitrary and capricious action." 
Watkins said the decision "sets aside" the recommendation of the 
department's professional staff to issue the permit, and said the company 
is considering taking legal action to overturn the decision. 
Watkins said the secretary's decision was based on his opinion that 
additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere presents a "substantial 
endangerment" to the public health of Kansans. 
But, Watkins maintained, "Current EPA and Kansas regulations do not 
consider carbon dioxide a pollutant." 
In his decision, Bremby cited the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this year in 
the case of Massachusetts v. EPA that carbon dioxide meets the broad 
definition of an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act. The Kansas Air 
Quality Act similarly has a broad definition of what constitutes air 
pollution, the secretary said. 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized the need for 
public health agencies to take the lead on educating the public about the 
health impacts of climate change and has adopted priority health actions 
to prepare for, respond to and manage the associated health risks of 
climate change. 
The decision constitutes a first step in emerging policy to address 
existing and future carbon dioxide emissions in Kansas. 
"KDHE will work to engage various industries and stakeholders to establish 
goals for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and strategies to achieve 
them. This is consistent with initiatives underway in states leading the 
effort to address climate change," said Bremby. 
One such initiative currently being undertaken by eight northeastern 
states is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a mandatory regional 
cap-and-trade program aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from 
power plants by 10 percent, or approximately 12 million tons annually, by 
2020. 
The expanded Sunflower plant was projected to release an estimated 11 
million tons of carbon dioxide annually. 
"Denying the Sunflower air quality permit, combined with creating sound 
policy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions can facilitate the development 
of clean and renewable energy to protect the health and environment of 
Kansans," said Bremby. 
Supporters of the project view this decision as a setback for central and 
western Kansas. "This destroys the opportunity for $200 million of direct 
benefit for central and western Kansas cooperative and municipal customers 
and diminishes the ability to build transmission necessary for additional 
wind power growth," Watkins said. 
"Unfortunately, this decision opens the door to higher rates for central 
and western Kansas. We reject the Sierra Club's recent assertion that 
doubling electric rates would be acceptable," Watkins said. "Our farmers, 
small business owners, senior citizens and commercial customers should not 
be burdened by higher rates because of political maneuvering." 

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