Sevier plant waste site needs study, groups say

Six groups sent a letter Wednesday to Sevier County commissioners requesting a full environmental analysis of a proposal to dump waste from a yet-to-be-built coal-fired power plant 30 miles away from the plant on a property opponents say is prime wildlife habitat.

The waste would consist of about 262,000 tons of coal combustion waste, or fly ash, which would be generated by the proposed Sevier Power Company's (SPC) 270-megawatt plant.

"The proposed landfill would be located in pristine wildlife habitat near the Koosharem agricultural reservoir and the headwaters of Otter Creek, a tributary of the Sevier River," reads a letter signed by Sevier Citizens for Clean Air and Water. "It will also be near a spring that is one of the main water sources for Salina city residents."

Other signatories include Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Utah Moms for Clean Air, Citizens for Dixie's Future and National Parks and Conservation Association.

"We are especially concerned that the commission would approve SPC's storage proposal without clearly understanding the public health risks and environmental hazards associated with the disposal of coal combustion waste," the groups wrote in their letter.

Questions they want answered zero in on the likelihood of groundwater contamination from the waste or whether runoff via rain or snow from the disposal site will reach the Koosharem Reservoir. The groups also want to know more about threats to vegetation and wildlife, airborne coal dust and how the landfill will be monitored.

Currently Sevier Power Co. has an option to purchase 118 acres of private land near Koosharem to use as a site for dumping fly ash.

E-MAIL: sspeckman@desnews.com