Word circulating in halls of the state Capitol is that California-based Sempra Generation is thinking about unplugging the life support and letting its planned coal-fired power plant die without further heroic efforts.
A wise decision, if it's true. And it would be a welcome development.
Obstacles facing Sempra were beginning to become insurmountable.
State lawmakers in the Senate seem poised to approve legislation creating a two-year moratorium on permits and construction of coal-fired plants of the kind Sempra proposed for Jerome County.
What initially seemed like public and legislative apathy exploded into a surging wave of opposition to the $1 billion plant. Opponents ranged from dairymen and farmers to environmentalists and health-care professionals.
Opponents shared a common dread that emissions from Sempra's proposed plant near Jerome would shower downwind counties with pollutants that could infect animals, wildlife, water and woodlands.
Approving Sempra's plant also might well have been the proverbial foot-in-the-door for other polluting industries to spot their plants in pristine Idaho areas.
This sort of damage clearly could not be tolerated for the so-called benefits—jobs and local taxes—of the Sempra plant.
A few legislators who voted against the freeze expressed fears that business might not want to locate in Idaho if Sempra is figuratively driven out. Nonsense. Businesses that are compatible with Idaho's lifestyle and reputation for safeguarding the environment will always be welcome.
Polluters need not apply.
