Coal plant permits improper

By Margaret Newkirk

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

State water permits at a planned Middle Georgia coal plant don't meet the requirements of state and federal law, an administrative judge ruled late Friday.

It's unclear whether the ruling will delay the plant, which is being built near Sandersville by a coalition of five electric cooperatives led by Marietta-based Cobb EMC.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, GreenLaw, the Altamaha Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club called the ruling a victory for plant opponents.

But the co-op coalition, called  Power4Georgians, dismissed it as procedural.

The judge said the state Environmental Protection Division erred by allowing water monitoring to be done inside the plant, instead of where discharges meet the river.

The EPD also allowed water to be transferred between river basins without following legally-mandated procedures, the ruling said.

SELC attorney Brian Gist said Monday that the plant would take 13.5 million gallons of water per day from the Oconee River, to use in another river basin.

Gist said it's up to the state as to how it proceeds with the river basin transfer issue. The agency has the option of taking a substantive look at whether the transfer is advisable, he said.

Power4Georgians spokesman Dean Alford  said the ruling would not delay the plant by much. He said the group had no problem putting monitors closer to the river, as well as inside the plant.

And Alford said he believes the EPD can fix the river transfer problem simply by putting out a public notice and holding a public hearing.

Power4Georgians hopes to begin construction within two years, he said.