Nation’s last new coal plant proposal denied in Georgia

SANDERSVILLE, GA -- The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has denied a request for additional time to begin construction on the proposed Plant Washington, signaling the end of the troubled 12-year-old project. The now defunct consortium of electric membership corporations (EMCs) behind the project had 30 days to appeal the EPD decision which expired last week.

Plant Washington represented the last proposed new coal power plant project in the United States. The 850 MW plant would have cost more than two billion dollars to construct and would have produced the annual carbon pollution equivalent of about one million cars. By not constructing this plant, Georgia ratepayers will avoid paying millions of dollars for dirty, outdated power.

The Sierra Club sought to protect ratepayers, air and water quality, and public health by opposing the project from the beginning, working alongside partners including the Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment, Ogeechee Riverkeeper, Altamaha Riverkeeper, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, this coalition successfully challenged the plant’s original water and air permits and repeatedly fought requests for permit extensions.

Katherine Cummings, a member of the Washington County based Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment (FACE) released the following statement:
“I am thankful for the EPD’s decision so we can move on from this outdated and unnecessary project. Plant Washington posed a threat to family budgets, community health, and natural resources in and beyond Middle Georgia. It’s certainly a moment of closure and relief that this polluting giant will never be built.”