Coal plant progressing amid protests, lack of buyers

Work on a new coal-fired power plant in Millard County is progressing, despite struggles to get some cities to sign up to buy the power and increasing objections from Utah residents and local doctors.

At least three Utah cities and several in California, including Pasadena and Anaheim, declined late last year to buy power from the plant. In Utah, Logan decided against participating because of environmental concerns. Murray and Heber said they did not need the extra power.

Many of the California cities dropped out after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation last September requiring California utilities to buy energy from clean-burning sources, as part of an effort to reduce global warming.

But at least 30 Utah cities have already signed on to buy power from the plant, according to Jackie Coombs, spokeswoman for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems. Seven cities have not signed on, including the three that declined to buy power, and cities such as Bountiful that have not yet decided what to do.

"It's moving forward," Coombs said. "We're looking forward to construction."

The new plant is planned to be built just west of Lynndyl, in Millard County. South Jordan-based Intermountain Power Agency, which already runs two coal plants near Lynndyl, will operate the plant. The coal-fired facility will be 950-megawatts and is scheduled to open in 2012, pending an appeal by the Sierra Club and the Grand Canyon Trust to overturn an air-quality permit granted by the Utah Air Quality Board.

The two environmental groups filed the appeal in 2004 but were denied legal standing by the Air Quality Board. They protested that decision up to the Utah Supreme Court, which ruled last November that the Air Quality Board must hear the appeal.

Hearings on the appeal are scheduled for this October.

Stephanie Colquitt, a Bountiful resident, said she wants her city to study renewable energy sources such as wind before signing up for coal-fired energy. She's concerned about air quality and the health effects of pollution. In addition, coal plants are considered top emitters of mercury, which has been linked to neurological issues, respiratory problems, headaches and other health problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Colquitt and others from Bountiful have joined with a group of local doctors known as Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment to advocate for a ban on new coal-fired power plants. The physicians group was formed about six weeks ago. It has met with business leaders and the governor to push for changes to limit air pollution.