| - In November the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment issued Big Stone II an air quality permit, then it sent that to the EPA for review.
- The EPA found 3 areas of the permit that were not consistent with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.
- South Dakota now gets 90 days to change the permit and then the EPA has 45 days after that to review the permit again.
- The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved transition lines for Big Stone II last week.
- Minnesota law requires that new power lines for a coal plant can only be approved when the applicant (usually a utility) proves that that costs less than using renewable energy or energy efficiency or some combination of the two.
- If the permit is changed and accepted by the EPA it would likely raise the cost of the project. It would almost certainly change the cost. So according to MPR awesome local green group Fresh Energy plans to ask the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to reconsider last weeks decision.
Her group will ask the PUC to reconsider its power line permit for Big Stone II. Taylor says the increased costs of the plant because of the air permit issue will be one of the issues the group raises. It's possible the plant's energy will cost more than renewables like wind power, she says.
In short, this is a big set back for Big Stone II and a big victory for environmental advocates but the fight is far from over. It does signal however that the EPA under President Obama (still feels amazing writing that) will be taking a much harder look at proposed coal plants then they did during the Bush era. That coupled with Obama's "green dream team" and recent stimulus developments are very good for anyone who cares about the future of our planet. |
Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delivered a big blow to the proposed Big Stone II plant and a huge victory for our climate and environment.
