Kansas governor vetoes bill on coal-fired power plants

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)--Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a bill March 21 that would allow two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas and strip some power from the regulator who has blocked them.

Legislators who support the bill have been working for weeks to build the two-thirds majorities they need in both chambers to override Sebelius' veto, which had been expected. Supporters still appear to be short in the House, and it wasn't clear whether they would try to override.

"Of all the duties and responsibilities entrusted to me as governor, none is greater than my obligation to protect the health and well-being of the people of Kansas," Sebelius said in her veto message.

Sebelius also issued an executive order establishing a new advisory council to make recommendations for reducing greenhouse gases. She also reiterated that she's willing to accept a compromise allowing one of the proposed plants to be built, if it comes with a commitment to use technology to capture greenhouse gas emissions and develop wind power.

"I believe we need a comprehensive discussion on energy policy," Sebelius wrote in her message.

The bill is a response to a decision in October by the state's health and environment secretary, Rod Bremby, to deny an air-quality permit to Sunflower Electric Power Corp., for the two coal-fired plants outside Holcomb, in Finney County. The $3.6 billion project has bipartisan legislative support.

Bremby rejected the permit because of the plants' potential carbon dioxide emissions. Many scientists link CO2 to global warming, and Bremby said the state can't ignore the dangers of climate change.

Many legislators, including some of Sebelius' fellow Democrats, saw Bremby's decision as arbitrary because the state has no rules on CO2 emissions. They argued the decision made Kansas less business-friendly and made future power shortages more likely.

"I believe we will need all forms of energy--gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar and others--to meet our future electricity needs," said Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican.

Only days before the veto, House Speaker Melvin Neufeld and other Republican legislators said Kansas had been passed over for a proposed $10 billion refinery because its regulatory environment was too uncertain. Sebelius' administration disputed the claim.

Once legislators receive the veto message, they have 30 days to attempt an override. Some have suggested recently that supporters instead will draft new legislation.

But Morris said he will try to override the veto.

Sebelius objected strongly to provisions limiting the secretary's power to deny air-quality permits for such projects and to block him from writing new emissions standards without the Legislature's approval.

Bremby has said he isn't planning to impose limits on CO2 but to encourage utilities and other companies to voluntarily reduce their emissions. He signed the first such agreement last month with Westar Energy Inc., the state's largest electric company, though it doesn't set specific targets.

Sunflower estimated that its new plants would produce 11 million tons of CO2 a year. The utility planned a bioenergy center for capturing all but 4.5 million tons and using it to grow algae that could be converted to fuel. Critics said the technology is too experimental.

The bill's supporters hoped to win over some reluctant legislators by including provisions in the bill to give utilities a financial incentive to help consumers conserve power and to encourage homes and businesses to use solar-power generators.

The most significant "green" provision mandated that renewable resources, such as wind, account for 10 percent of each investor-owned utility's and electric cooperative's generating capacity by 2012. The figure would rise to 20 percent by 2020.

But environmentalists said the benefits from such provisions were far outweighed by allowing the two coal-fired plants and their CO2 emissions.

They also said the bill set Kansas apart, because dozens of proposed coal-fired plants in other states have been abandoned and or delayed. They argued that after a new president takes office next year, the federal government will impose CO2 regulations, making coal-fired plants more expensive to operate.

Sebelius and other critics of Sunflower's project also have noted that only a fraction of the power from the new plants initially would go to Kansas consumers.

Sunflower and a sister company serve about 400,000 customers in 55 western Kansas counties. Its two plants would have a combined generating capacity of 1,400 megawatts, enough to supply the peak electric needs of 700,000 households, according to one state estimate.

Sunflower has two partners, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc., of Westminster, Colo., and Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, in Amarillo, Texas. Initially, they would claim almost 86 percent of the new power.

But supporters of Sunflower's project said exporting electricity would be like exporting beef, wheat or aircraft parts and improve the state's economy. They also said Sunflower probably would claim a greater share of the plants' power in the future, as Kansans' power needs increased.

4/21/08
2 Star EK\3-B

Date: 4/17/08

	Web hpj.com

Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2011.  High Plains Publishers, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com