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By SARAH KESSINGER
Harris News Service
TOPEKA -- Gov. Kathleen Sebelius emphasized again Friday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should regulate power plant emissions that contribute to climate change.
But an EPA spokeswoman said the agency's not planning to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired electric plants anytime soon, although top administrators are planning new limits on greenhouse gases that come out of vehicle tailpipes.
"At this point, we're still studying the issue," said Kim Olson, spokeswoman for EPA's regional office in Kansas City.
Environmentalists say the federal inaction leaves it up to Sebelius, who has been pushing clean energy initiatives, to halt building permits for coal-fired electric plants.
The issue is coming to a head as state regulators appear to be moving closer to a final decision on two 700-megawatt plants sought by Sunflower Electric Corp. near Holcomb.
Other states, too, are facing similar decisions. In Oklahoma, regulators this week rejected a large electric company's bid to build a 950-megawatt plant in northern Oklahoma.
A state Corporation Commission member said the company had not done enough to explore alternative forms of energy, according to media reports.
Craig Volland, spokesman for Kansas Chapter of the Sierra Club, pointed out early on in the Sunflower debate, Sebelius said that if the plants weren't built in Kansas, they would be built in Oklahoma.
"This week's rejection is another example of another state taking action to prevent construction of a coal plant," Volland said.
Sebelius issued a statement Friday saying she joined other governors in urging the president and Congress to develop a national policy on carbon emissions.
"In the interim," she said, "states are left to make the decisions."
Environmental groups say they hope that's a sign Sebelius will decide against the pending permits or put them on hold.
"If she does allow it to go forward, it's an obvious contradiction of things she's been saying about transitioning to renewable energy and efficiency," Volland said.
In Kansas, the state's air quality division administers air pollution permits for the EPA. Sebelius has said she'll leave the decision on Sunflower's permit to Rod Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which houses the state's air quality bureau.
"Gov. Sebelius is confident that Secretary Bremby will carefully weigh all the issues when making his decision regarding the permit," said Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran. "The governor will wait until he makes this decision before issuing any statement or reaction on the potential outcome."
Joe Blubaugh, KDHE spokesman, said the bureau is following EPA regulations and, so far, the federal agency hasn't issued any new rules on carbon emissions.
In a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year, justices rebuked the EPA for failing to control CO2 output in light of global warming. But the case involved vehicle emissions, Blubaugh said, not coal plants.
Volland argues the ruling, in essence, was broader than that.
"It said carbon dioxide was a pollutant that should be regulated under the Clean Air Act."
There's two ways to do that, he added. One is for EPA or KDHE or both to instigate rule-making to limit CO2 from power plants. Two Lawrence residents, Sarah and Ray Dean, recently sued KDHE, calling for such regulation. The case is pending in Shawnee County district court.
Another way, Volland said, is to require the power plant's builder to use best available control technology to cut harmful emissions.
That might include an experimental algae reactor Sunflower officials want to use at their southwest Kansas power complex.
"They themselves in their testimony have stated their new algae reactor could remove 40 percent of CO2," Volland said.
Sunflower officials say they plan to use the latest technology that's affordable. The algae reactor's first phase of testing recently was completed.
Blubaugh said the state agency would give the public three day's notice before announcing the permit decision.
In making the final call, it's unlikely the state will get new guidance from the federal government.
"The EPA so far has not changed anything," he said.
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