BIG COAL EXERTS INFLUENCE

Firing improves chances for Sunflower coal plant
Karen Dillon and David Klepper, November 4, 2010 (Kansas City Star)

"…[T]he un-built Sunflower coal plant may have been a winner [in the Kansas election]…In a surprise move on Election Day, Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson ousted the official who had blocked construction of the plant in western Kansas…The removal of Roderick Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, increases Sunflower’s chances of being built, environmentalists and others said…

"Parkinson has denied that Bremby’s removal was linked in any way to the coal plant project. Instead, Parkinson said he wanted Bremby to take a transition Cabinet director position…Bruce Nilles, deputy conservation director for the national Sierra Club, said [the] firing was a shrewd move on Parkinson’s part…"

This is how it was. From SierraClubKansas via YouTube

"A January deadline is looming for Sunflower. It needs a construction permit approved this year before new environmental laws kick in, making the plant more costly to build…Concerns about Parkinson possibly pressuring Bremby to expedite the permit process were raised two months ago by environmental groups, which reported concerns to the Environmental Protection Agency…Bremby was not available for comment…

"The four-year battle over the plant has been hard-fought on both sides and millions of dollars have been spent…Originally, Sunflower planned to build three plants with 2,100 megawatts of electricity…Most of the electricity was never meant for Kansas, whose customers do not need it…In 2007, Bremby rejected Sunflower’s permit application because it did not address carbon dioxide emissions, which Bremby considered a public health risk."

click thru to the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Kansas and get involved

"Then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius twice vetoed legislation that would have allowed Sunflower to move ahead…But in 2009, Sebelius…[became] head [of] the U.S. Health and Human Services agency, and [Lt. Governort] Parkinson became governor…[He] held secret meetings with Sunflower officials and then shocked many when he announced…Sunflower would build only one 850-megawatt plant. Still, much of that electricity would go to out of state…The agreement…was approved by the Legislature…[and Bremby was stripped] of his discretion on health concerns that he used in 2007 to reject the plants…

"The EPA remains a player in the permit…Sunflower had planned to move ahead and build the plant, but EPA weighed in and ordered the corporation to apply for a new air-quality permit. Sunflower did that in January…Tri State Generation, the Colorado utility that had been pushing hard for the new plant, is keeping its options open…[but] has spent $51 million developing the plant…"