Enviro group seeks federal help in coal project

NORTH DAKOTA - Federal regulators should block a proposed coal drying plant in southwestern North Dakota because it does not have a state mining permit, an environmental group contends.

The plant, which is being developed by GTL Energy USA Ltd., would process lignite into briquettes and increase its energy value by removing water from the coal. Lignite, used to fuel electric power plants, normally has water content of 30 percent or more.

North Dakota's Public Service Commission informed GTL Energy in August that the project did not need a mining permit. It is to be near South Heart, in Stark County, where two other companies are developing a new mine and factory to turn coal into synthetic gas.

Lawyers for the Dakota Resource Council, of Dickinson, wrote a letter to the Office of Surface Mining in Denver, asking the federal agency to block any construction until regulatory questions are answered.

The Public Service Commission's conclusion that the coal drying plant does not need a mining permit "is in error, contrary to plainly stated law and (federal) regulations, and therefore warrants immediate... review and intervention," the letter says.

The commission did not provide public notice or hold a hearing before it made its decision, the attorneys said. Their letter asks the Office of Surface Mining to respond next week because the attorneys believe construction of the coal-drying project is about to begin.

Robert French, the president of GTL Energy USA Ltd., did not respond immediately to an e-mailed request for comment. The company's chief financial officer, Blake Williams, said the dispute was between the Dakota Resource Council and state regulators.

"GTL Energy has complied with all regulatory requirements to date and will continue to cooperate with all applicable authorities," Williams said in an e-mail message.

Susan Wefald, the Public Service Commission's president, said the commission decided in a separate case last year that a coal drying operation did not require a state mining permit.

In that instance, Great River Energy and the North American Coal Corp. had formed a joint venture to dry lignite for use in Great River's Coal Creek electric power station, PSC filings say.

The drying facility was on the grounds of the Coal Creek plant. A North American subsidiary, the Falkirk Mining Co., supplies lignite to Coal Creek.

In GTL's case, Jim Deutsch, the PSC's land reclamation director, applied the same reasoning in determining the company's coal drying plant did not require a mining permit, Wefald said.

Deutsch said the plant will not be operated in connection with the proposed new coal mine near South Heart, and is not considered a coal preparation facility. The factory may dry coal from other mines besides the proposed South Heart mine, Deutsch said.

The Dakota Resource Council lawyers, Carrie La Seur, president of Plains Justice, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Brad Bartlett, a managing attorney for the Energy Minerals Law Center of Durango, Colo., disputed the PSC's conclusions.

A federal rule "clearly (requires) permitting of coal processing facilities at mine sites," the attorneys said in their letter to the Office of Surface Mining.

The developers of the coal gasification factory, Great Northern Power Development LP and Allied Syngas Corp., hired GTL Energy last April to provide the coal drying technology for their plant.

The process, which is called beneficiation, increases the coal's energy value and allows it to burn more cleanly, project officials say. Water extracted from the lignite will also be used in the gasification plant's operation, officials say.

Richard Voss, a Great Northern Power Development executive who has been a spokesman for the gasification project, did not respond Friday to telephone and e-mailed requests for comment.

GTL Energy USA Ltd. is a unit of GTL Energy Ltd. of Adelaide, South Australia. Allied Syngas is part of Allied Resource Corp., of Wayne, Pa. Great Northern Power Development LP is based in Houston.

Related News

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi seeks investors to build hydrogen-export facilities

ABU DHABI - Abu Dhabi is seeking investors to help build hydrogen-export facilities, as Middle Eastern oil producers plan to adopt cleaner energy, sources told Bloomberg.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is holding talks with energy companies for them to purchase equity stakes in the hydrogen projects, the sources referred.

ADNOC, which already produces hydrogen for its refineries, also aims to enter into long-term supply contracts before making any progress with these investments.

Amid a global push to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, the state-owned oil companies in the Gulf region seek to turn their expertise in exporting liquid fuel into shipping hydrogen or…

READ MORE
biden-imposes-higher-tariffs

Biden Imposes Higher Tariffs on Chinese Electric Cars and Solar Cells

READ MORE

power lines

Which of the cleaner states imports dirty electricity?

READ MORE

hinkley Point C

Setbacks at Hinkley Point C Challenge UK's Energy Blueprint

READ MORE

dawn farrell

As Alberta electricity generators switch to gas, power price cap comes under spotlight

READ MORE