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Published 2/10/2010 in Commentary : Editorial
Hearings can help clear up the issue.
More public hearings on the planned expansion of the Sunflower Electric Power Corp. plant at Holcomb are on the horizon.
Just as in 2006, when the Kansas Department of Health and Environment organized public meetings to gather input on Sunflower's request for an air-quality permit needed to add three 700-megawatt units (later changed to two), the KDHE will again ask Kansans to provide input on a plant expansion.
In 2006, public hearings took place in Garden City, Topeka and Lawrence. A year later the KDHE denied the air-quality permit request.
Now, with a deal brokered by Gov. Mark Parkinson last year that gives Sunflower another shot, the KDHE will seek public input on a revised application to add a single, 895-megawatt coal-fired power plant to the Holcomb facility.
That's led a Lawrence-based environmental group that opposes the expansion — The Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy — to call for five public hearings on the plan.
But a decision on the number of hearings certainly isn't up to an environmental group, just as it's not Sunflower's call. It's up to the KDHE.
That said, geography is an equally if not more important consideration than the number of meetings.
Western and central Kansas, areas served by Sunflower, need to be meeting sites. Beyond that, the KDHE should schedule additional public hearings convenient to Kansans in all regions.
Citizens also have the option of providing input in writing. But putting thoughts on paper isn't the same as engaging in public discussions that address pros and cons, and help people better understand issues and form their own opinions.
Much of the input no doubt will echo what was said last time, when opponents decried carbon dioxide and other emissions from a bigger plant, and supporters touted a plan that would incorporate cutting-edge carbon mitigation technologies while meeting growing electricity demand and delivering the positive economic impact of a multibillion-dollar construction project.
It's a heated debate. If the two sides agree on anything moving forward, it should be in making sure as many Kansans as possible engage one way or another in the public discussion.
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