Sunflower coal plant permit anticipated

Sunflower Electric air-quality permit faces a 30-day public comment period as KDHE reviews environmental modeling, greenhouse gas controls, and BACT compliance for the Holcomb coal plant in Finney County amid political scrutiny and regulatory deadlines.

A new coal-fired power plant in southwest Kansas is on track to obtain a state environmental permit by year's end so that it wouldn't have to comply with new federal rules on greenhouse gas emissions, officials confirmed.

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. had worried it might not get its permit until next year. Federal rules taking effect Jan. 2 require new power plants to use the best available technology for controlling greenhouse gas emissions amid the CO2 debate over global warming.

A legislative supporter of the project acknowledged "some angst" over the permitting process at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The department already has taken public comments about the plan for a plant outside Holcomb, in Finney County. However, it plans a second comment period because of problems with environmental modeling software used by the utility, a step that followed an EPA start-over directive referenced in related coverage.

A key issue for Sunflower and environmentalists has been whether the new public comment period, as reflected by a Sierra Club hearing request from advocates seeking more time, would last 30 days, the minimum required, or 45 days. Spokeswoman Kristi Pankratz told The Associated Press the department decided on the shorter period and plans to announce it by the end of this month.

As for the permitting decision, which some critics called a foregone conclusion in earlier reports, Pankratz said, "We're hoping to have that by the end of the year."

State Sen. Janis Lee, a Kensington Democrat who strongly supports Sunflower's plans, also said a decision should be reached by the end of the year in a normal permitting process.

"I believe that there was communication between the governor's office and the secretary, and the decision was made on 30 days" for the comment period, Lee told the AP. Lee said the decision was made just recently.

Before the decision, Lee said, "There was some angst."

Environmentalists including those behind the Earthjustice challenge argue the department is rushing a decision on whether Sunflower gets the air-quality permit it needs to build its plant.

In an e-mail obtained by the AP, Sunflower's vice president of member service and external affairs, Clare Gustin, had accused department Secretary Rod Bremby of "gaming the process" to delay a permit. Cindy Hertel, a spokeswoman for the Hays-based utility, said the e-mail was an attempt to keep supporters of the project updated.

"My thought is to have multiple contacts with both the Governor and Bremby, hoping that someone can positively change this situation," Gustin wrote.

Bremby rejected an earlier plan by Sunflower to build two coal-fired plants, deciding in October 2007, more than a year after his staff drafted a proposed air-quality permit. The proposed permit for the latest project was finished June 30, after Sunflower had reapplied for expansion on the project.

The e-mail said Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson, who supports the project, was meeting with key supporters of the utility's plans, following a reported governor-utility deal in prior coverage. AP confirmed meetings involving those mentioned in the e-mail, though Parkinson spokeswoman Amy Jordan Wooden said the governor isn't involved in the permitting process.

Lee confirmed she had a meeting with Parkinson. An aide to State Treasurer Dennis McKinney, another Democrat who supports the Sunflower project, confirmed that he also was to meet with the governor, though she didn't know the topic.

Jordan Wooden declined to discuss Parkinson's non-public schedule. But she also said she's not aware of any conversations between Parkinson and Bremby about the permitting process.

"This is a KDHE process," she said. "We are not doing anything to slow down this process. We are not doing anything to accelerate this process."

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