SWEPCO plant’s foes seek a halt to site work
Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/225633/
Opponents of a coal-fired power plant planned for Hempstead County have asked a federal judge to block all construction work at the site, accusing Southwestern Electric Power Co. of failing to obtain all necessary permits.
SWEPCO officials say the company has done nothing wrong and wants to minimize costs that are projected to approach — if not exceed — $ 1. 4 billion to complete the 600-megawatt facility in 2011.
“We believe it’s in the best interest of our customers to manage project costs by being ready to start construction as soon as the air permit is received,” President and Chief Operating Officer Venita Mc-Cellon-Allen said Monday in a prepared statement.
Members of the Hempstead County Hunting Club asked for a temporary restraining order as part of a lawsuit filed Friday in U. S. District Court in Texarkana. A hearing is set for 1: 30 p. m. Thursday.
The suit argues that SWEPCO has illegally “commenced construction” at the 2, 850-acre site 15 miles northeast of Texarkana without a valid “Prevention of Significant De- terioration” permit called for by the federal Clean Air Act.
By a 2-1 vote, SWEPCO won approval from the Arkansas Public Service Commission in November to build the plant. That ruling has since been appealed to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, as SWEPCO awaits an air quality permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
In the interim, SWEPCO has cleared and graded more than 100 acres and performed “largescale excavation and other dirt and rockwork” that includes “at least one permanent water retention facility,” the suit states.
Aerial photos taken in March that were included in the suit reveal the retention pond, along with several earthmovers, several dirt roads, more than three dozen portable buildings and parking areas for several dozen vehicles.
The suit also notes that SWEPCO and possibly its parent company, Ohio-based American Electric Power, entered a $ 700 million contract in May 2007 with the Shaw Group to build the plant. It also cites a May 2007 contract with Babcock & Wilcox to build the plant’s boilers and a press release from the company stating that engineering work had “already begun.”
“Accordingly, SWEPCO has begun ‘actual construction’ of the Hempstead plant,” the suit states. Citing part of the Clean Air Act, the suit indicates that “no ‘major emitting facility ’” can be built unless specific conditions are met, including obtaining a permit “prior to commencing construction.” But SWEPCO contends that it’s “preconstruction” activities have occurred with a “clear understanding” that actual construction cannot start until an air permit is received.
“We have consistently kept state and local officials informed about our work at the site,” Mc-Cellon-Allen said. “The lawsuit is a part of continuing efforts by the Hempstead County Hunting Club to prevent SWEPCO from building this important project.” SWEPCO says it needs the plant to prevent a shortage of electricity to its 112, 000 customer in Arkansas, as well as some 340, 000 customers in Louisiana and Texas.
The hunting club is among several landowners with about 18, 000 acres near the plant site. That includes 2, 000-acre Grassy Lake, which is home to alligators, migratory birds and some of Arkansas’ last cypress swamps and stands of virgin timber.