KANSAS PERMIT DENIAL PROMPTS FIGHT ECHOING NATIONWIDE CO2 DEBATE

摘要

The unprecedented decision by the Kansas permitting authority to deny an air permit for a new coal-fired power plant because of concerns about the effects of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has sparked an immediate vow by the company seeking the permit to take legal action against the state. The dramatic decision by Kansas is sure to play out in other parts of the country as well, where a host of battles over permits for new coal-fired power plants are ongoing, including New Mexico and Nevada. The Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (KDHE) on Oct. 18 the final permit needed for construction of a 1,400 megawatt (MW) coal-fired facility in Holcomb, a move that could provide a key legal precedent for other industrial permits in the state because the state found that it can consider the effects of non-regulated pollutants in permitting decisions when the emissions are determined to present a substantial endangerment to public health or welfare. KDHE Secretary Roderick Bremby also cited as a legal rationale for his decision the Supreme Court's landmark finding in Massachusetts, et al. v. EPA that GHGs are regulated pollutants under the Clean Air Act.