Sunflower Electric

The EPA issued a letter today stating that Sunflower Electric must restart the permit application process if it wants to build an 895 MW coal plant in Kansas, a permit the company thought it had already secured in a back room deal with the governor.

The move by the EPA's Region 7 administrator highlights the ability of the federal Clean Air Act to protect the public health and welfare, despite political horse trading.

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson had negotiated a private agreement with Sunflower for construction of the plant, and subsequently the state Legislature made the agreement part of a law that the governor signed on May 22.

Today, however, the EPA informed all stakeholders that the plant still must meet requirements of the Clean Air Act. The agency laid out in detail what those requirements are in a six-page letter (attached below).

"This means that the governor's back room deal will be forced into the light of day for the public to examine," said attorney Amanda Goodin of Earthjustice, a public interest law firm that has been representing the Sierra Club in the case.

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Last week, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made some remarks at Georgetown Law School to help launch a new state-federal resource center devoted to climate policy. Everyone in Kansas -- especially the lawmakers -- ought to watch the video of what she had to say.

She talked about "the brand new world" in Washington, how it will strengthen the work of states as they begin to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and how it will lead the way to "a new energy era."

That's the big picture, and Kansas lawmakers are ignoring it.

This week, the state's legislators are at it again, trying to push through approvals for the construction of two new coal plants. They want to strip power plant permitting authority from Rod Bremby, the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment who famously denied permission over concern for carbon dioxide emissions. The problem for the legislators is, the federal government now stands behind Bremby.