Environmental advocates have filed new legal challenges to a proposed coal-fired power plant in Early County, Ga.
Greenlaw, acting on behalf of Friends of the Chattahoochee and the Sierra Club, filed petitions for a hearing challenging Georgia Environmental Protection Division decisions allowing construction of the proposed Longleaf Energy Station near Blakely.
The group challenged the EPD’s decision to classify Longleaf as a minor source of pollution and a decision to give Longleaf an extension on when it must begin construction. The group argues that by giving Longleaf an extension, EPD is giving Longleaf a way to avoid stricter new rules concerning pollution control technology.
“These permits as issued will not adequately protect the air we breathe or the water we drink,” Greenlaw executive director Justine Thompson said in a press release. “The law requires, and Georgians deserve, air permits that are based on the most modern pollution controls. These permits contain flaws for pollutants known to be dangerous.”
Mike Vogt, a spokesman for LS Power, the company developing the plant, said his company was confident of winning the legal argument. An administrative law judge green-lighted the plant in April after reconsidering an issue an appeals court had remanded to her.
Vogt said the time extension to the specifications of the current permits was necessary to build the plant because of the lengthy court battle and other delays.
LS Power has planned to build the coal-fired power plant since 2001. Vogt said an economic slowdown and litigation have contributed to a lengthy wait.
“This one has taken a little longer,” he said.
Vogt said if all goes well, construction on the plant, which supporters say could bring 100 permanent, full-jobs to the Blakely area, could start toward the end of the year.
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