Coal-plant initiative back on ballot

Owens said the Right to Vote Committee believes that the Utah Constitution allows voters to commence an initiative or referendum in order to legislate any law. The plaintiffs had asked the court to declare SB53 unconstitutional because they said it unduly burdens citizens' right to legislate land-use ordinances.

Lawyers for the power company had contended that the narrow focus of the initiative's apparent intent of stopping one power plant in effect makes the matter an administrative issue, not a legislative one, and should be considered out of bounds. A decision to allow people to vote on whether to allow power plants to be built will have a domino effect, according to Finlinson.

"What's to stop them from saying, 'We don't want to have that particular church in our neighborhood?"' Finlinson asked Wednesday before the order issued by Chief Justice Christine M. Durham.

Finlinson said before the ruling that a win for his side would mean counties would retain a uniform zoning process throughout the state. A loss in the form of letting people vote on the issue of coal-fired power plants would "cloud" the zoning process and, in this case, pose a "significant disruption" in the upcoming election, he added.

Sevier Power has been trying for seven years to sell Sevier County residents on the idea of the power plant near Sigurd. Some residents want the plant and the jobs it would bring, while a vocal group of opponents has tried to stop the plant, saying waste and air pollutants from the plant would harm the environment and put human health at risk. Finlinson said he hopes construction on the plant will start before 2010, but a successful ballot initiative could have a retroactive effect and stop building once it has begun.

The power company's proposal will have another stop in the Utah Supreme Court on Thursday for two separate appeals of the air permit granted by the state in 2004 to Sevier Power. The Sierra Club, which was not a party in Wednesday's hearing, alleges the new plant would not do enough to curb emissions blamed for global warming. The group wants the justices to revoke the permit.

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