State Stresses Air Quality at Planned Fpl Coal Plant

Jun 11 - Palm Beach Post

Florida Power & Light Co. can use any technology it wishes at a proposed coal-burning power plant, but it will have to meet the highest air quality standards possible, a state Department of Environmental Protection official said Wednesday.

"We want to know what's coming out of the smokestack," DEP's Hamilton "Buck" Oven said. "We don't care what technology they use, but any new plant has to be as clean as reasonably possible."

Oven spoke to the Property & Homeowners Association Wednesday to discuss the state's role in approving new power plants.

FPL hopes to build what it calls a "clean coal plant" in southwestern St. Lucie County.

The plan needs county commissioners' approval of a zoning change before going to the state for approval.

The state's site certification process includes a review of air quality, water quality, transmission lines and any issues that residents or county officials raise, Oven said.

The system was adopted several years ago after one utility complained about the piecemeal approach of getting one permit at a time.

A coal plant's air emissions can vary depending on the coal it burns and the technology it uses to generate power, Oven said.

"The quality of coal can vary from mine to mine," he said.

FPL is considering using coal from the Appalachian region of the United States and from Colombia, he said.

Coal would be brought to the plant in 125-car trains.

Bill Hammer, a resident of The Reserve, said his neighbors are concerned about the long trains blocking the western entrance to their development and brush fires sometimes caused by sparks from passing trains.

Oven said that will be reviewed in the site certification process to see how long it will take trains to clear a crossing and what might be done about it.

"They might consider building an overpass," Oven said.

County Commissioner Doug Coward said he wants to know how air emissions from coal plants compare with other fuels such as natural gas.

"How many power plants can we build in this area and still meet the air quality standards?" he said.

Two people suggested utility companies pool their money to build a nuclear power plant.

"Why ask one company to bear the risk?" Hutchinson Island resident Charles Grande said. "They could join in the cost of an application."

No nuclear plants have been built in the U.S. since the 1979 Three Mile Island accident.

jim_reeder@pbpost.com