The Kansas Department of Heath and the Environment issued an interim policy statement yesterday that provides absolute clarity for any business or project that will emit CO2 in Kansas. KDHE will consider CO2 emissions when granting air quality permits only in the case of new electrical generating units, since electricity production accounts for over a third of all CO2 emissions, and since such units are the single largest sources of CO2 in the state. No other facilities will be subject to any scrutiny regarding CO2 emissions until EPA moves to outline new CO2 regulations at the federal level.
In the last year, 83 coal plants nationwide have been delayed, abandoned, or denied. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the EPA to begin regulating CO2 as a pollutant. Multiple other regional court and regulatory agencies have made decisions against coal plant permits. Major lenders were refusing to finance coal plant construction, even before the recent recession. We have a new administration that is quickly and forcefully moving to change how carbon emissions are dealt with at the national level. The writing has been on the wall for two years now – with the international economic uncertainty surrounding carbon emissions, building a coal plant is a bad idea.
While a number of other states have already begun measuring and regulating carbon dioxide emissions with no adverse impact upon their economies (even hard-hit Michigan is proposing an outright moratorium on coal plants), I haven’t seen any other state regulatory agency take such clear steps to reassure the business community in their state. It may be unprecedented for a state agency to reassure its regulated partners like this.
From this point forward, if the Kansas Legislature continues to harass KDHE regarding their air quality permitting process, there can be absolutely no mistaking that the only intention is to force KDHE to permit two coal plants hosted by single company. It’s not about anything else. The issue of “regulatory certainty” is not something the Kansas legislature can effectively do anything about or needs to debate any further.
Last year, we saw an entire legislative session hijacked by attempts to force KDHE to permit the coal plants. Legislative leadership called that a debate about “comprehensive energy policy” and they said it with a straight face. Our legislature has wasted a lot of our time and tax dollars to develop energy policy for Colorado and Texas utility companies, and economic development for Wyoming coal mine owners.
Kansas has an incredible opportunity. It’s clear that the risk of carbon regulation currently only impacts new coal plant construction. Now it’s time our legislature set about crafting an energy policy that uses our own abundant resources – like wind, natural gas, and solar – to re-power our state, renew our economy, and to lead the nation toward greater energy independence based upon cleaner fuels.
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I read the petion to be sent to the legislature. I agree with essentially
everything it says. However, in the direct address to the legislature it
says “we demand” they take certain actions. I believe this to be inapprop-
riate language to use. We are not in a position to demand anything, and
people in an elected position of power can be very resentful of such demands. I therefore cannot sign on to the petion.