St. George protest decries proposed coal-fired plant just across border in Nevada

By Mark Havnes
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 12/18/2007 06:49:54 AM MST
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7748974
mhavnes@sltrib.com

ST. GEORGE - Be nice, not naughty. That is the plea from a group of St. George residents to Nevada's governor this holiday season about plans to build a coal-fired power plant 40 miles away in the Silver State.

About 100 residents rallied in a St. George park Monday in front of a sign that read, "No Coal for Christmas." There, they signed a large card that will be mailed to Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons expressing their opposition to the 750 megawatt plant.

Craig Booth, a doctor and former medical director at Dixie Regional Medical Center in this southwestern Utah city, told the gathering that pollutants, including sulfur compounds, spewed from the plant would hurt the health of the community.

"If it's so clean, why not build [west] of Mesquite or in Las Vegas?" Booth asked to cheers.

Springdale City Councilwoman Louise Excell also worries about emissions threatening the health and welfare of residents. "It's nasty stuff," she said. Springdale's City Council passed a resolution against the Toquop Energy Project.

Frank Maisano, a Toquop spokesman, said Monday that the company plans to tap the latest technology for the $1.3 billion plant, significantly lowering pollutants while boosting the region's economic vitality.

He noted Utah receives 85 percent of its power from coal and ought not be telling Nevada how to produce electricity. "The demand for power in the region, including St.  George, is desperate," Maisano said. "This [Toquop] project will keep the lights on in St. George, Mesquite and  Las Vegas."

A call to the Nevada governor's office was not returned Monday. Meanwhile, in southern Utah,  Washington County Commissioner Alan Gardner said the commission believes the proposed plant's high-tech upgrades will keep it from harming residents. Instead, he said, the facility will help meet the area's surging energy demands. "Coal has to be part of our energy future," Gardner said. A letter in support of the plant by members of the Washington County Commission was published earlier this month in the area's daily newspaper, The Spectrum.

Company: Sithe Global Power.
* Size: 750-megawatt coal-fired power plant.
* Location: 12 miles northwest of Mesquite, Nev., and about 40 miles southwest of St. George.
* Cost: About $1.3 billion.
* Jobs: About 800 construction workers and about 110 plant operators.
* Pollution controls: Company officials say the high-tech plant will stop more than 90 percent of nitrogen-oxide emissions, more than 98 percent of sulfur-dioxide emissions and 90 percent of mercury emissions.
* Timeline: Construction could start next year and end in 2013. Source: Toquop Energy Project