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Montana Coal Plant ProposalsMontana Coal in the NewsMontana currently receives approximately 54 percent of its electricity from coal-fired power plants, and plans are in place to build more. Here is a list of the current proposals. Follow the links to find out more about each proposal and what efforts are underway to oppose them.
1. HardinLocation: Hardin Company: MDU Resources Group/MT-ND Utilities Type: Conventional pulverized coal Megawatts (MW): 110 Customer: Merchant More information: In 2005, the Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) challenged the air permit for Hardin due to inadequate mercury standards imposed on the plant. An agreement was reached between the two parties, stating that Hardin will be a test facility for mercury controls during the first three years of its operation, and during 18 months of that period, a mercury control technology must be installed. With this agreement, the plant began commercial operation in March 2006. Contact: Anne Hedges with the Montana Environmental Information Center at Anne Hedges or 406-443-2520. 2. Thompson RiverLocation: Thompson Falls Company: Thompson River Co-Gen Type: Conventional pulverized coal and wood waste Megawatts (MW): 12 Customer Merchant More information: The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permitted this 12.5 megawatt power plant near Thompson Falls in 2001 as a coal and wood waste burning facility. Despite a local abundance of wood waste – a cleaner-burning alternative to coal – developers planned to design the plant to rely primarily on coal which would arrive by rail from Roundup. In September 2003, Thompson River Co-Gen (TRC) requested an amendment to its permit to allow for a larger 16 MW plant and was granted a second permit in 2004. While TRC returned to the state for additional permit changes, the Montana DEQ conducted an onsite inspection at Thompson River and discovered that TRC had begun construction on its revised plans 498 days before it would be granted the permit to do so. In July 2005, the DEQ and TRC agreed to a penalty of $106,400 – only a small portion of what the state is entitled to for this type of violation. In September 2005, after granting TRC’s request to relax its air permit conditions, the DEQ issued a second violation letter for the company’s failure to comply with its permit. Within days, TRC had halted operations and was given ultimately given a penalty of $1,894,200. Based on the company’s alleged inability to pay the initial sum, the DEQ announced a settlement in November 2007 that drastically reduced the company’s fine from $1,894,200 to a mere $200,000. In response to TRC’s failure to disclose financial statements and divulge their financial dealings with the state, Montana Environmental Information Center joined with the Clark Fork Coalition and Thompson Falls residents in asking the Governor to launch an investigation of TRC's legal compliance as well as their dealings with the DEQ. Contact: Anne Hedges with the Montana Environmental Information Center at Anne Hedges or 406-443-2520. 3. HighwoodLocation: Great Falls Company: South Montana Electric G&T Type: Circulating fluidized bed Megawatts (MW): 250 Customer: Montana Electric Cooperatives More information: If constructed, Highwood would annually emit 3,052,081 tons of carbon dioxide (equivalent to the emissions produced by 561,000 cars in a year), 1,177 tons of carbon monoxide, 443 tons of sulfur dioxide, 366 tons of particulates, and other air pollutants. The plant was originally proposed in 2003, but due to an aggressive grassroots campaign and legal opposition, no construction has begun. In May 2008, the Montana Environmental Information Center and Citizens for Clean Energy successfully appealed the state Board of Environmental Review’s issuance of Highwood’s pending air permit. In an effort to protect public health and local interests, the groups successfully argued that emissions of the harmful air pollutant PM2.5 would violate the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate pollution. As a result, Montana has become the first state in the nation to require a coal-fired power plant to specifically consider air pollution controls for fine particulate matter classified as PM2.5. Highwood is now considering a $5 million pollution control technology to capture the particulate pollution in order to comply with the Board’s new emissions requirements. On October 7, 2008 the Department of Environmental Quality issued a draft air permit for the plant, requiring Highwood to install additional equipment to capture PM2.5 emissions. Under the terms of its air permit, Southern Montana Electric has until December 2008 to begin construction but will have to wait until the Department of Environmental Quality issues its final permit to finalize construction plans. In addition, Montana Environmental Information Center has joined with local farmers, ranchers and homeowners to file a lawsuit challenging the Cascade County Commission’s decision to rezone 668 acres of prime agricultural land to allow for development of the Highwood plant. By rezoning the farmland as heavy industrial land, the commission has jeopardized local agricultural operations and the rural character of the surrounding community. With their private land interests at stake, over 80% of the surrounding landowners have joined in this suit, demonstrating widespread local resistance to the plant. Their legal arguments are based on the premise that the Commissioners illegally spot-zoned the property, a rezoning process that benefits a small number of landowners to the detriments of all surrounding property owners. A decision on this motion is expected by the end of November 2008. Contact: Anne Hedges with the Montana Environmental Information Center at ahedges@meic.org or 406-443-2520. |
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