Jul 15 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Laura Snider Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.

More than 200 people turned out Tuesday night to oppose the renewal of the Valmont power plant's air permit, which is issued by the state.

Residents took their turn at the podium in the Boulder County Courthouse for nearly four hours, pleading with the state's Air Quality Control Commission to deny the permit for a host of reasons, the majority of which related to the more than 1 million tons of globe-warming carbon dioxide released each year when coal is burned at the plant northeast of Boulder.

But even before the first of more than 50 speakers stood in front of the commission to comment, a staff member from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment responded to the arguments he anticipated hearing.

"At this point in time, we don't have any specific regulations on carbon dioxide emissions in either state or federal regulations, and we are bound by those regulations," said Roland Hea, an air permit supervisor.

Air permits issued by the state for large emitters, such as the Valmont coal plant, regulate pollutants including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates and volatile organic compounds. But -- at least so far -- the permits do not regulate carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.

If a coal plant, or any other regulated emitter, is meeting the air standards set by Colorado, which in turn must comply with the federal Clean Air Act, then the state is bound to issue an air permit, according to Hea, no matter how compelling the public's concerns about global warming may be.

"We are mandated by law to issue the permit," he said. "It's not discretionary. If somebody meets all the requirements that apply, then we are required to issue the permit."

But activists who favor shutting down the Valmont plant -- including WildEarth Guardians, the Sierra Club and Clean Energy Action -- are questioning whether the current air-permit requirements are stringent enough to meet the federal Clean Air Act.

In fact, if the Air Quality Control Commission does not address Valmont's carbon dioxide emissions along with the more traditional pollutants before renewing the plant's air permit, the commission will actually be violating the federal Clean Air Act as it's begun to be redefined, according to Jeremy Nichols, the climate and energy program director for WildEarth Guardians.

There are two recent federal actions that are leaving air permit processes across the country up in the air.

First, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled both that carbon dioxide is a pollutant and that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate it under the Clean Air Act. And while the head of the EPA under the Bush administration directed his agency not to regulate carbon dioxide, the new EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, has decided to review the policy, opening it up for public comment.

"You are wrongly assuming that you must conform to the historical silence (on pollutants such as carbon dioxide)," Paul Sheldon, a senior consultant for Eldorado Springs-based Natural Capitalism Solutions, told the commission Tuesday. "Even if you don't think you have the authority to deny this permit, at least you can defer your decision until the EPA rules."

The Valmont plant can produce nearly 200 megawatts of electricity to customers in Colorado, and to do so, it typically burns more than a half-million tons of coal a year.

Gary Magno, an environmental analyst for Xcel Energy, said the plant "does an excellent job in meeting current air emission standards."

"We continuously work with state officials and others to ensure that our operations are safe and in compliance with all applicable permits and regulations," he said.

The commission will consider the public comments before making a decision on the permit in the coming weeks. Emissions permits in Colorado must be renewed every five years.

(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services