Hearing wraps up on SW Ark. coal plant plans
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NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—An attorney for groups opposing a $1.6 billion coal-fired power plant under construction in southwest Arkansas said the facility is "not ready for prime time" as hearings concluded Thursday on challenges to the air permit issued for the project.
Tom Rheaume, who oversees the permits branch of the Air Division at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, testified on the conditions the agency used to decide whether to issue a permit to Southwestern Electric Power Co. for the utility's John W. Turk Jr. plant in Hempstead County. Southwestern is owned by American Electric Power.
The Hempstead County Hunting Club, Audubon Arkansas and the Sierra Club are challenging the decision to issue the permit, saying the state didn't properly analyze the plans before approving the project.
Both sides have until Aug. 21 to file post-hearing briefs and response briefs are due by Sept. 11.
Michael O'Malley, who is overseeing the hearing, will make a recommendation to the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission. O'Malley denied a joint motion by ADEQ and SWEPCO for an immediate ruling in the case, and didn't offer a timeline when he hoped to issue a ruling.
Ilan Levin, an attorney representing Audubon and the Sierra Club, said he hoped the hearings would convince the commission to deny the permit for the project.
"Send it back to ADEQ, because it's not ready for prime time, or tighten the permit limits," Levin said in an interview after Thursday morning's testimony.
Attorneys for opponents in the case have challenged the modeling that state officials used for predicting the impact of emissions from the plant. A meteorologist with SWEPCO testified that using wind data from the airport in Shreveport, La. was sufficient for predicting the plant's emissions.
"It should be remanded back to the agency so the proper analysis that's required under the Clean Air Act procedures can take place," said Rick Addison, an attorney representing the hunting club.
The hearing is one of several hurdles facing SWEPCO as it builds the power plant in Hempstead County. An appeal of the permit issued by the Public Service Commission to build the plant is also pending before the Arkansas Court of Appeals.
Kelly McQueen, an attorney for SWEPCO, said she was confident that the commission would uphold the decision to grant the permit.
"It is among the most stringent pulverized coal plants in the nation, if not the most," she said after the hearing.
