Top Kansas court clears way for new coal-fired power plant
Source: Associated Press
Top Kansas court clears way for new coal-fired power plant
By JOHN HANNA
Mar. 17, 2017 3:50 PM EDT
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' highest court on Friday cleared a major obstacle to the long-delayed construction of a big, new coal-fired power plant, rejecting an effort by an environment group to force the state to regulate emissions linked to climate change.
The state Supreme Court upheld a 2014 decision by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to give Sunflower Electric Power Corp . the go-ahead for its $2.8 billion project. The utility wants to build an 895-megawatt plant adjacent to an existing one outside Holcomb, in southwestern Kansas.
The Sierra Club sued, partly because the department didn't impose limits on greenhouse gas emissions from the new plant. The group also argued that the agency didn't impose stringent enough standards for other pollutants, including mercury and nitrogen and sulfur dioxide. It suggested that the department was using proper air-pollution models and was rushing its decision.
But in its unanimous ruling , the Supreme Court said the Sierra Club could not show that the agency's action was unreasonable or arbitrary. Justice Marla Luckert wrote for the court that the group "must do more than raise policy arguments."
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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/360848442eca4e128140700c2ca3dc4d/top-kansas-court-clears-way-new-coal-fired-power-plant
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