Amy Dominguez, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org
PHOENIX, AZ – Today Sierra Club made a filing with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) opposing Salt River Project's (SRP) request to have the ACC reverse its decision to deny a permit for SRP's proposed expansion of the gas-fired Coolidge Generating Station. SRP's proposed expansion project would negatively impact surrounding communities, while contributing to the climate crisis and raising costs for customers.
After the ACC voted twice to deny approval of a certificate of environmental compatibility (a permit which weighs the environmental impacts of a project) for the expansion of the Coolidge plant last year, SRP filed and lost a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court. It then appealed that decision to the Arizona court of Appeals. Now SRP is seeking to improperly have the Commission reverse its decision on the plant expansion through a rushed process without providing adequate information on the revised proposal or its impacts.
SRP is proposing substantial changes to core elements of the Coolidge Expansion project, including changes to the number of turbines, the turbine's locations, how much the turbines would run, and mitigation measures. The revised proposal differs from the project SRP originally proposed, but SRP has not updated its permit application, and the ACC has not heard any evidence about the impacts of the revised project or SRP's need for it. These big changes require new evidentiary hearings at the ACC so that the public and all interested parties can understand the revised project's impacts and so the Commission can ultimately weigh the environmental impacts relative to the need and determine if the project is in the public interest.
"Sierra Club remains opposed to siting of these polluting gas units at Coolidge and to SRP's efforts to manipulate the system for its desired outcome," said Sandy Bahr, Director for Sierra Club's Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. "The Arizona Corporation Commission has repeatedly concluded-- and the Maricopa County Superior Court affirmed-- that SRP's proposed massive expansion of the Coolidge Generating Station is not in the public interest and would result in significant harm to the environment. SRP is now asking the ACC to just say okay to the project without additional review despite the significant changes SRP is proposing. Because of those significant changes, SRP needs to file an amended certificate of environmental compatibility with an accompanying new hearing."
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.