Big Win for Breathers Proposed TXU Coal Plant Denied

AUSTIN - A decision was issued today by administrative law judges in a permit application by TXU to build a 1720 megawatt lignite fired coal plant near Franklin, Texas. The judges ruled that the proposed pollution controls the proposed 1720 megawatt plant weren't proven and that the emissions could affect downwind cities. The decision reads in part:

"The Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) recommend the commission find that Oak Grove has failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that its BACT proposals for controlling NOx and mercury emissions are technically practicable and would achieve the performance standards contained in the application and draft permit. The ALJs find that Oak Grove failed to prove by a preponderance of evidence that its proposed source would not cause or contribute to a condition of air pollution. For these reasons, the ALJs recommend that the Commission deny Oak Grove's application for air quality permit."

"This is a major victory for people who live downwind of proposed major power plants like this 1720 megawatt monster. Citizens who live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Waco and Austin who would have been affected by the emissions from this proposed plant can take a deeper breath as a result of this decision. The ALJs reversed the commission's decision on the rate of NOx emissions. However, this ruling will now go the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for review and could be reversed by the Commissioners. We are hopeful that the commissioners will uphold this decision and not bow to TXU's tremendous political weight" said Tom "Smitty" Smith, one of the plant's opponents.

"Robertson County: Our Land, Our Lives is encouraged by the judge's decision. We have said all along that the emissions from this plant could and should be lower. After hearing the evidence the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) judges agree with us. We are anxious to see if the TCEQ Commissioners will heed the message this decision sends and demand that TXU resubmit their application with lower emissions. We have often felt like a small voice in the wilderness, we are delighted that our claim that a thorough review of the facts would lead a reasonable person to agree with us has been validated. Citizens should not be forced to choose between economic development and a clean environment" said Paul Rolke, President of Robertson County Our Land Our Lives. "This shows that citizen groups facing power proposed plants should fight them- they can make a big difference."

"We are very happy about this decision. Mercury pollution is a serious health threat, and the TXU plant would have emitted 1440 pounds of toxic mercury every year. This is a huge amount of a substance that causes brain damage, and having mercury controls on the plant that actually perform is critical. Texas is already the worst in the nation for power plant mercury pollution; and the judges were right to deny this permit." stated Karen Hadden, of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition"

"It just seems odd that throughout this whole ordeal TXU has constantly claimed that it could not use IGCC because it is not a 'proven technology'--despite this technology being successfully used elsewhere in the country to reduce pollution," said Hadden. "Rather, TXU wanted to use technology at Oak Grove that has never been used for this type of lignite-fired power plant. Nobody knew how, or if, it would work to protect our air as well as TXU claimed. Fortunately, the law requires more than a mere promise from TXU-it requires proof, which the judges determined was lacking."

"The TXU Oak Grove hearing judges have issued an extraordinary ruling recommending to deny the air permit, the first time a proposed coal-fired power plant permit has ever been denied in Texas by the TCEQ," says Neil Carman, clean air program director for the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter. Carman added that "We hope this positive trend continues of denying permits for dirty coal plants."

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