Feb 19 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Rocky Barker The Idaho Statesman, Boise

 

Growing opposition to a coal-fired power plant in the Magic Valley has moved the debate from the Jerome County Courthouse to the Statehouse.

Idaho Democrats have unsuccessfully pressed bills aimed at stopping Sempra Energy, a California-based company, from building a 600-megawatt-fired power plant in Jerome County. If built, the plant would be the first commercial coal-fired plant in a state dominated by hydroelectric power.

Now, as powerful industry groups like dairymen, fish farmers and the Idaho Farm Bureau have joined opponents of the plant, Magic Valley Republicans have brought their own bills forward.

Rep. Sharon Block, R-Twin Falls, introduced a bill that would place a two-year moratorium on the development of coal-fired plants.

But her bill will face tough opposition from Republicans who see the economic benefits of building a large power plant in the state.

"The not-in-my-back-yard argument does not have enough votes," said House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, R-Burley.

The debate comes as publicly regulated utilities Idaho Power and Avista Corp. are predicting they will need coal-generated power to meet rising demand at the lowest possible cost to their customers. Sempra's plant would generate enough electricity to power 600,000 homes and bring a $1.4 billion investment and more than 900 workers to the state during construction.

Sempra threatens water for one key lawmaker

Newcomb has made his reputation as a defender of Idaho water. He is approaching the Sempra issue as a water protection issue.

"What's different about transferring water out of state to transferring electricity out of state?" Newcomb asked.

He will introduce a bill that would require the Legislature to approve any permanent water transfer for thermal generation of electricity above two cubic feet per second -- the amount of water Sempra would require.

No Idaho utility has committed to buying Sempra's power, but company officials say they are not aiming at selling the electricity to California, as critics charge.

"Our target market for this project is Idaho and the Pacific Northwest," said Art Larson, a company spokesman.

Democrats aim at mercury emission

In the 2005 session, Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, and Boise Democrats Sens. Kate Kelly and Elliot Werk introduced a bill that would have set up a statewide power plant siting procedure. It was aimed at taking the final decision about where a power plant would be built out of the hands of a single county.

The bill was killed in an interim committee last summer. Last fall, the Department of Environmental Quality drafted rules that would have allowed power plants like Sempra to buy the right to emit mercury pollution. Since Sempra predicts it could emit more than 100 pounds of mercury into the atmosphere, despite its state-of-the art emission technologies, more than 600 people wrote letters opposing the rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency pulled back its own rule for reconsideration, putting the state process on hold. Stennett has introduced a bill this year to cap emissions of mercury, which causes neurological problems in young children, at one pound.

Agriculture, fish industries weigh in

Sempra's environmental issues have struck a cord with two powerful industry groups. The Idaho Dairymen's Association and Idaho Aquaculture Association, which represent industries that together employ 21,000 Idahoans and generate nearly $1.5 billion in annual economic activity in the state, said earlier this month that Sempra's emissions would potentially threaten their operations.

"Magic Valley's economy and lifestyle is based on agriculture," said Bob Naerebout, the dairymen's executive director. "Sempra has not provided scientific information or assurances they will use best available control technology to protect Idaho's resources utilized by its agricultural industries."

Opposition comes on strong

Former Republican Sen. Laird Noh of Kimberly was an early opponent. But he is surprised by the opposition to the plant in the region.

"I've never seen anything like it," Noh said.

Block's bill would allow new technology, such as a coal gasification plant, which theoretically would emit fewer pollutants, to go forward near Pocatello. But it would prohibit counties or state agencies from issuing a permit for other coal-fired plants except those proposed by public utilities like Idaho Power Co. or electrical cooperatives. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission would conduct a study of the economic and environmental impacts of coal-fired plants.

Stennett compares the Magic Valley response to the 1970s opposition to the 1,000- megawatt Pioneer coal-fired power plant proposed 20 miles southeast of Boise by Idaho Power. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission turned down the plant in 1978 amid strong opposition.

"We've enjoyed 30 years of clean air because we shut down Pioneer, and what we got is the third-fastest growing state in the country," Stennett said.

But with that growth comes power demand. Alternatives like wind can help the state, experts say, but Idaho also will need an increasing supply of "baseload," electricity available 24 hours a day on demand.

The state's hydroelectricity resource is maxed out, and natural gas-powered generators are subject to increasing fuel prices, experts say. Conservation can reduce demand and is considered an increasing part of the energy mix by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the regional power planning panel.

Growth increases demand for power

Still, Idaho Power, which serves the Treasure Valley, and Avista Corp predict they will need 750 megawatts of coal-produced electricity over the next 10 years. However, both companies have remained neutral about Sempra. Idaho Power already gets coal-fired power from Nevada and Wyoming and that could be expanded.

"One of the competitive advantages we have in this state is plentiful and cheap power, said Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell.

"It has allowed us to attract a lot of good businesses and jobs."

Before the coal plant can be built, Sempra needs approval from Jerome County and from the Bureau of Land Management, whose land its roads and transmission lines would cross; and air permit from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality; and approval for its water transfer from the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

Stennett said he'll support Newcomb's bill, which would set back approval of the water transfer at least a year. If none of Stennett's bills or the Republican bills pass, he fears Jerome County will determine the plant's fate.

"Something's got to be done this legislative session or it's going to go through," Stennett said.