Kansas Supreme Court Nixes Permit for Coop’s Coal Plant
In a unanimous decision, the Kansas Supreme Court overturned a permit granted to Sunflower Electric Power Corporation in 2010 to build a coal-fired power plant in the southwestern part of the state. The court found that the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (KDHE) erred in issuing the permit because it did not take into account a series of regulations that were enacted beforehand. Between 2006, when Sunflower filed its first application for the facility, and 2010, when the KDHE secretary issued a permit, the Environmental Protection Agency had updated some of its air quality rules, and, as a result, the Sierra Club filed a petition for judicial review against the secretary and the department. The court ultimately found that the permit violated the Clean Air Act and the Kansas Air Quality Act’s rules on maximum allowable hourly concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, two common air pollutants that result from coal burning. Sunflower said that it intends to pursue the project. Click here to read more (subscription required).
