by Wallace McMullen
Lawsuit against wind power development dismissed
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit in February filed by the Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Foundation that had sought to stop/block development of a large wind farm in Kansas. The proposed wind farm of 100 wind turbines, about 45 miles east of Wichita, will be the state’s largest producer of wind energy.
Empire District Electric Co. of Joplin, Missouri is one of the major investors in this 150 megawatt project being developed by Scottish Power PLC and Greenlight Energy Inc. of Charlottesville, Virginia. The wind farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power 42,000 homes annually, and a major portion of the output will go to the Joplin area.
The Foundation sought to prohibit commercial wind energy development in the Flint Hills ecosystem and a surrounding buffer area, arguing that the area’s tallgrass prairie, migratory birds, and aesthetic view should be protected. The judge ruled their suit failed to state a proper legal claim.
Environmental Groups Appeal Permit For A New Coal-Burning Power Plant Near St. Louis
The Sierra Club, American Bottom Conservancy, American Lung Association, Clean Air Task Force, Lake County Conservation Alliance, and Valley Watch have appealed the air pollution permit issued to St. Louis based Peabody Energy by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for its proposed Prairie State coal plant. The groups filed the appeal with the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) of U.S. EPA in Washington, D.C. The EAB is expected to take six to nine months to rule on the appeal, so a decision may not come until 2006.
“We filed this appeal because this dirty coal plant represents a tremendous health threat to citizens in Illinois and the surrounding region,” said Bruce Nilles, attorney for the Sierra Club. “Peabody should use the best available technology to protect the health of surrounding communities in southern Illinois, Chicago, and the St. Louis metro area. Surely the world’s largest coal company can do better.” According to IEPA’s permit, the Peabody Prairie State plant will potentially emit more than 50 million pounds of new pollutants every year, including 270 pounds of mercury, (which can cause brain damage to a developing fetus, babies and young children); 11,866 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 5,216 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides. In addition, the plant would emit thousands of tons of carbon dioxide per year, the primary greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. “Air pollution in the St. Louis metropolitan area is already a problem and Peabody’s dirty coal plant would make the situation much worse,” said Kathy Andria of the American Bottom Conservancy, which is based in East St. Louis. “Nearly 300,000 children in Illinois suffer from asthma, and the rate in the St. Louis Metro area is double the national average.”