Local & State Headlines

Chamber officials back Early County coal-powered plant

• Chamber of Commerce officials join the fight against a ruling that threatens construction of an area energy plant.

Carlton Fletcher &
Mary Braswell

ALBANY — Officials with the state and area chambers of commerce say they will lend their names to an application that will be filed today with the Georgia Court of Appeals asking that a Fulton County Superior Court judge’s decision interrupting construction of a coal-fired power plant in Early County be reconsidered.

Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore’s ruling on June 30 invalidated a permit granted by the state Environmental Protection Division to LS Power to begin construction on the $2 billion Longleaf Energy Station in rural Early County. Chamber officials say the decision threatens economic growth potential in Georgia by hampering the state’s ability to meet the demand for reliable and affordable power.

“We’re shocked at the decision,” George Israel, president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said during a meeting Tuesday with The Albany Herald Editorial Board. “If this ruling is allowed to stand, it will not only hinder the ability to supply power to the state, it will have a major negative impact on future economic development in Georgia.”

Israel, state Chamber Director of Government Affairs Ryan Mahoney and environmental attorney Patricia Barmeyer, who is LS Power’s legal representative, joined Albany Area Chamber of Commerce Chair Jay Smith and interim President Wendy Martin at the meeting with the Editorial Board.

Moore’s ruling favored a request by The Sierra Club to invalidate Longleaf’s permit based on six factors, most notable among them the environmental group’s contention that plant emissions would release dangerous levels of carbon dioxide into the Southwest Georgia air. Her decision overturns a ruling made by Administrative Law Judge Stephanie Howells of the Office of State Administrative Hearings that supported the permit previously granted by the Georgia EPD.

Moore’s ruling, Mahoney said, threatens not only the Longleaf plant but also future business growth in the state.

“While Congress and the federal government are in the process of trying to decide whether or even how to regulate CO2 emissions, this judge concluded that CO2 is already regulated under the Clean Air Act,” Mahoney said. “But neither the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nor Georgia EPD nor any court anywhere in this country has ever ruled that CO2 is regulated.

“If this decision is allowed to stand, any factory, hospital extension, church, school or business of 100,000 square feet or more will surpass the CO2 threshold and will have to acquire a Clean Air Act permit before beginning construction. Every business will be at risk of having a citizen suit filed.”

Barmeyer said the ruling by Moore ignores established state and national standards.

“EPD looked hard at the environmental issues with this plant before granting a permit,” she said. “The way our system works is that rules and standards are in place, and you must meet those standards to receive a permit. This plant met the standards; it is designed to be one of the cleanest in the nation, if not the cleanest ever.”

Israel praised the Albany chamber for joining the fight to oppose Moore’s ruling, noting that the local chapter is one of more than 150 businesses and organizations across the state that have already come out in opposition of the ruling.

“We’re going to support this effort because it will have a huge impact on business in the state,” Smith said. “This ruling doesn’t just affect gas-powered plants, it affects all energy plants. And I can say that the utilities industry does not turn a blind eye on the environment.”

Smith is Albany area manager for the Georgia Power Co.

Martin, meanwhile, said that state and regional chamber officials were acting in the best interest of their membership in supporting an appeal of Moore’s ruling.

“We have an obligation to protect our members from such an arbitrary onslaught,” she said.

Mahoney said it was vital that the state Appeals Court agree to hear the argument against the Fulton Superior Court judge’s ruling.

“The Supreme Court has said the ultimate decision (on CO2 emissions) is up to EPD, but this one judge in Fulton County has jumped way ahead of the curve with this ruling,” he said. “The significance of this decision is far-reaching; no other state in the country is subject to these requirements.”

Barmeyer echoed those sentiments.

“This is a bad decision, a potentially disastrous one,” she said. “(The ruling) is unprincipled, not based on law. I’d hate to even think about the results if the (appeals) court chose not to hear our appeal.”

Barmeyer said the setback could set construction of the Longleaf plant, which has been in development for more than five years, back an additional year.

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