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This article originally provided by
The Charleston Gazette
By Ken Ward Jr.
Staff writer
The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy wants a circuit judge to
order state regulators to revoke a key permit for the proposed
Western Greenbrier Co-Generation plan.
Lawyers for the Conservancy filed suit Wednesday to try to force the
state Department of Environmental Protection to act.
The suit alleges developers have waited too long after receiving a
DEP air pollution permit to begin construction of the $416 million
facility.
The Conservancy suit was filed Wednesday in Kanawha Circuit Court by
Derek Teaney and Joe Lovett, lawyers with the Appalachian Center for
the Economy and the Environment.
Western Greenbrier hopes to build the plant near Rainelle. It would
burn coal and coal waste, helping to clean up a nearby gob pile at
Anjean, developers say.
But environmentalists are concerned about air emissions and other
pollution from the project.
"From the beginning, we have been concerned about toxic emissions
from the WGC plant," said Beth Little of the local group Cleanbrier.
"The Greenbrier Valley is already near federal health limits for air
pollution, and we are anxious about the health of our citizens,
especially our children and elderly, who are more apt to suffer from
asthma and other respiratory problems," Little said.
Originally, the Western Greenbrier plant was estimated to cost $215
million, and developers hoped to get half of that money from the
Department of Energy's clean coal program. But costs have risen to
$416 million, and developers have said they are facing financial
problems.
The Conservancy's lawsuit notes the plant's permit was approved
by the DEP in April 2006.
Under state rules, the DEP is required to revoke the permit after 18
months if the company does not submit "written proof of a good-faith
effort that such construction ... has commenced."
About 18 months after the DEP approved the Western Greenbrier
permit, the company submitted an October 2007 status report that
said options to purchase land had been signed, permits obtained and
engineering firms chosen.
John Benedict, director of the DEP Division of Air Quality, said
earlier this week that no decision had been made on whether the
status report was adequate.
"We have not made a formal determination yet," Benedict said.
The lawsuit asks for a court order to force the DEP to revoke the
permit or conduct a new permit analysis.
Wayne Brown, a spokesman for Western Greenbrier, said the company
has not started construction because it is waiting for final
approval from the U.S. Department of Energy.
To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call 348-1702.
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