Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Senate to vote on power plant bill

Legislation would give legal standing to out-of-county residents


By REBECCA MEANY
Express Staff Writer

"I'm trying to apply pressure quietly where I can. The one (bill) I feel has some legs is the moratorium." - Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum

Idaho senators are warming up to the idea of giving more people a say in issues pertaining to thermal power plants and their effects.

The "Good Neighbor Bill," labeled S1276, is scheduled today for a third reading on the Senate floor. During a third reading, state legislators debate the issue and then vote on it.

S1276 would give legal standing to residents of counties adjoining one in which a thermal power plant—coal, gas, diesel or gasification—of more than 50 megawatts is proposed.

The bill is one of five initially proposed by Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, in reaction to the announcement by Sempra Generation of its intent to build a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Jerome County.

Residents of adjoining counties would be notified through their local newspapers of record of public hearings and would be able to testify in front of decision-making bodies.

It also would give those out-of-county residents legal standing to take the county to court in case of alleged due process violations.

Blaine County does not abut Jerome County, so the bill would not apply to residents here who want to weigh in on Sempra's proposed project.

Another of Stennett's bills, S1293, proposes to limit Idaho's mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants to one pound per year. The current cap is zero, and under current technology only very small plants could meet the one-pound-per-year standard.

An educational meeting on mercury will be held sometime next week.

Stennett hopes to get a hearing with the Senate Health & Welfare Committee for that bill after the workshop.

A bill that seeks to form a state siting committee to oversee a power plant's siting process is still alive but hardly kicking.

S1292 was assigned to the Senate State Affairs Committee but has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.

"I'm having a hard time with that one," Stennett said Tuesday. "The majority party controls the agenda and they (haven't put it on the docket)."

Stennett is "cautiously optimistic" about the bill proposing a moratorium on coal-fired power plants.

S1274 seeks a 15-month halt to applications for such plants in Idaho.

S1294 proposed that merchant coal-fired power plants of 250 megawatts or more be assessed by the Idaho Tax Commission.

Stennett withdrew that bill due to wording that didn't reflect its intent. It likely won't resurface this session.

"I'm trying to apply pressure quietly where I can," Stennett said. "The one I feel has some legs is the moratorium."

If the Senate approves the Good Neighbor Bill, it moves to the House, where the speaker will assign it to a committee for discussion.




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