Posted 12:15 PM, October 3, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2007
Contacts:
Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper. 503 224-3240. bv@columbiariverkeeper.org
Dvija Michael Bertish, Rosemere Neighborhood Association.
Environmental Groups Challenge Proposed Climate Polluting, Coal Fueled, Power Plant in Kalama, WA.
Seeking to stop a power plant that would spew millions of tons of toxic greenhouse gasses and other contaminants into Washington State skies, Columbia Riverkeeper, Willapa Audubon Society, and Rosemere Neighborhood Association have been granted the legal status to intervene in the permitting process for Energy Northwest’s proposed 680-megawatt coal-fueled Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant in Kalama. A total of six environmental groups will intervene in objection to the proposed coal-fueled power plant, along with the State Attorney General’s Office and the Washington State Department of Ecology. Intervention status has also been granted to Washington Environmental Council, Sierra Club’s Cascade Chapter and Northwest Energy Coalition. All interveners have agreed to work collaboratively in their case against Energy Northwest’s proposed plant.
On September 20, 2007, these groups, along with other concerned citizens of Washington State, attended a public hearing held by Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) to voice their concerns about environmental damages that will be sustained if this plant is allowed to operate. The Governor-appointed council took comments from the public concerning Energy Northwest’s greenhouse gas “sequestration plan” (view the plan at http://www.esfec.wa.gov/pmec.shtml). According to a new Washington State law, such a power plant would be required to capture and sequester a large portion of greenhouse gasses rather than allow them to spew into the ambient air.
Washington Senate Bill 6001 (passed just this year) gives Energy Northwest 5 years to capture and sequester a third to a half of the plant’s carbon emissions and requires them to submit an acceptable plan proving it can achieve this mandate as part of the application process. Energy Northwest has merely submitted verbiage that states it will devise a sequestration plan in the future, perhaps after operations have commenced on site, only after the technology is developed. The technology to capture and store greenhouse gasses underground has not yet been developed or even tested. Such technology may only become commercially available as late as 2020, yet this plant is slated to begin operations as early as 2010. Energy Northwest is seeking approval by EFSEC to build their facility even though they have admitted an inability to comply with Washington State emissions standards. Brent Foster, Director of Columbia Riverkeeper, says “The legislature passed a law saying no to dirty coal. Energy Northwest is wasting taxpayer money by trying to evade this law, and Energy Northwest admits it cannot comply with the law.”
The citizens of Washington State have expressed their strong preference for clean, renewable, alternative sources of energy with the passage of Initiative 937. However, Energy Northwest, formerly known as the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS/”WHOOPS”), is asking for certification for a plant that would not abide by Initiative 937. Instead, Energy Northwest plans to allow this plant to raise greenhouse gasses by a whopping 7% statewide, and there will a risk for airborne contamination throughout the lower Columbia River basin, including Vancouver. Interveners are also very concerned about the contamination this plant could pour into ground and surface water, including acid rain and mercury, and the adverse impacts the plant would have on widlife, waterways and the public’s health. Dvija Michael Bertish, Rosemere Neighborhood Association, says “We ask Energy Northwest to come out of the dark ages of coal and join us in the modern era of clean energy. In this age of renewable energy and the devastating effects of global warming, it is ridiculous to propose a huge new polluter.”
The general public is urged to get involved in this very important process, and to send your comments and concerns directly to EFSEC by emailing efsec@cted.wa.gov or stephenp@cted.wa.gov. or by writing to:
Stephen Posner
EFSEC Siting Specialist
EFSEC
P.O. Box 43172
Olympia, WA, 98504-3172
The deadline for Public Comments on the plant’s sequestration plan is October 20, 2007.
For more information on the EFSEC process go to www.efsec.wa.gov.
To learn more about the coal gasification process go to http://discovermagazine.com/2006/clean-coal-technology and read “Can Coal Come Clean? How to survive the return of the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel”
