High Court gives OK for Dry Fork to fire up
Environmental groups have been fighting the DEQ's decision to issue the power plant an air quality permit since 2007.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
- March 8, 2010
Originally published by The Gillette News-Record
Reported by Steve McManamen
The Wyoming Supreme Court says the Dry Fork power plant north of Gillette can start operating when it is finished in 2011.
The court upheld the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's ruling that the 385-megawatt coal-fired power plant meets air quality requirements.
Environmental groups have been fighting the DEQ's decision to issue the power plant an air quality permit since 2007.
The Powder River Basin Resource Council and Sierra Club argued that under its current permit, the plant will be built using outdated technology that would pose significant health risks to the surrounding communities.
The groups appealed the DEQ's decision to the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council in 2007, which found in favor of Basin Electric. The groups then took the issue to District Court, which certified the case to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Throughout the legal process, Basin Electric continued construction on the $1.3 billion power plant, which is now about 75 percent complete. The company began construction in October 2007.
Basin Electric spokesman Daryl Hill said the company was pleased with the decision.
"As far as we were concerned the permit was valid and it allowed us to continue with the work that we have been doing since 2005," Hill said. "If there would have been a change, then you deal with that change at the time it occurs."
The environmental groups also argued that Basin Electric should have considered newer emission control technology as part of the permit process. The Clean Air Act requires utilities to use the best available technology possible, which Basin Electric didn't do, according to the groups.
"All we were asking was for DEQ to give these newer, cleaner technologies a chance," said Shannon Anderson, spokeswoman for the Powder River Basin Resource Council. "Coal plants are significant, long-term investments and should be heavily scrutinized at the front end. Otherwise, Wyoming communities will be left with the pollution for decades to come."
Basin Electric worked on the permit application for 18 months before submitting it in 2005 and then the DEQ did further analysis between 2005 and 2007. The Dry Fork station will have about $334 million of environmental controls installed.
"There is a lot of work that goes into submitting and analyzing a permit like this," Hill said.
Dry Fork Station is predicted to emit 3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide per year along with lesser amounts of other gases that the Powder River Basin Resource Council consider greenhouse gases. But at this point, the Environmental Protection Agency only requires monitoring and reporting for carbon dioxide emissions.
"That is an issue we keep a very close eye on. If regulations are developed, then that is a point where you figure out what has to be done, what needs to be done to comply with those," Hill said. "At this point, there isn't a requirement for regulating carbon."
The Wyoming Supreme Court decision cannot be appealed and should stand as the final say on the matter, but the environmental groups have not said what their plans are.
Headquarters
1717 East Interstate Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58503-0564 USA
Phone: 701.223.0441
Basin Electric Power Cooperative will provide cost-effective wholesale energy along with products and services that support and unite rural America.
