By Jim McLean
KHI News Service
Topeka, Dec. 22
Kansas 1st Dist. Congressman Jerry Moran, a Hays Republican, said today he supports the proposed construction of three coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas.
Moran said his environmental concerns were outweighed by the economic benefits the plants are expected to produce for the region.
“I generally think that with the right kind of environmental regulation, this is a good thing for southwest Kansas,” Moran said in an interview with the KHI News Service.
Sunflower Electric Power Corp.”s proposal to build three 700-megawatt plants next to its existing coal-fired plant near Holcomb has generated opposition from environmentalists and leaders of several eastern states concerned about greenhouse gases and global warming.
But Moran and other proponents of the planned generators say the coal burners would be equipped with technology that would minimize the environmental impact.
Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, in an interview with the Lawrence Journal-World, said if the plants aren”t permitted in Kansas they would likely be built in Oklahoma. She said it is up to the federal government
not the states
to establish policy on greenhouse gas emissions.
“It”s very difficult within the borders of Kansas to control greenhouse gases and global warming,” Sebelius
told the newspaper.
The governor”s remarks drew criticism from Charles Benjamin, an attorney representing the Kansas Chapter of the Sierra Club.
“To say that state government can”t do anything is an excuse to do nothing,” Benjamin told the Journal-World.
Permits for the construction of the plants are currently under review by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Jim McLean is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at
jmclean@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 110.