A new interim state policy on carbon dioxide emissions issued by Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby Monday is simply “political gamesmanship,” according to Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, whose plans to expand a coal plant in Holcomb have been snarled by the Sebelius administration.

“The KDHE press release has not fooled anyone,” said Mark Calcara, vice president, general counsel and secretary of Sunflower Electric, in a statement distributed to Kansas Liberty Tuesday.

Calcara said the interim guideline announced by Bremby, who has no medical or scientific credentials, “makes it more evident than ever that a legislative fix is necessary to restore public confidence in the regulatory process.”

One such proposal, House Bill 2182, which would effectively strip the KDHE secretary of authority over air quality permits, already is under consideration by the House Energy and Utilities Committee. The bill also would allow Sunflower to re-submit its application for an air quality permit.

Rep. Carl Holmes, a Republican from Liberal and chair of the House Energy and Utilities Committee, said committee members have been reviewing energy-related proposals since last week, and that it was his intention to have an energy bill emerge from the committee this week.

Holmes said it was likely that HB 2182 would become part of a larger, more comprehensive energy package that also could address issues such as conservation and the use of renewable energy sources.

Bremby indicated when he issued the interim ruling that it was partly in anticipation of new EPA guidelines on carbon dioxide emissions.

“We are unclear why KDHE would issue a guideline in response to the intentions of the Obama administration and not actual federal law or regulation,” said Jeff Glendening, vice-president of public affairs for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a statement issued Tuesday to Kansas Liberty.

The Kansas Chamber was among business-advocacy organizations that said Bremby’s initial denial of the air quality permit for the Sunflower plant created an unstable regulatory environment in Kansas that could discourage other businesses from locating or doing business in the state.

Bremby’s denial, based on the alleged contribution of carbon dioxide emissions to global warming, came despite the fact the state has no regulations related to carbon dioxide emissions.

Holmes said he didn’t believe Bremby’s interim guideline did anything to clear up the impression that the state was acting in an arbitrary way on air quality permits.

Holmes said he was reminded by Bremby’s initial denial of a trip he’d taken to China with a select delegation of state lawmakers a few years ago. The group met with top Chinese officials in the Great Hall of the People.

One member of the American delegation asked a Chinese official why the government mandated that thermostats be set at 82 degrees or higher, even though it was mid-summer.

Holmes said the Chinese official responded: “I just got up one morning and thought it was a good idea so we did it.”

“Yesterday the secretary said there would be no coal-fired plants,” Holmes said. “Next week maybe it will be cement plants or an oil refinery. No one knows what the state’s regulatory climate is when the rules are so arbitrary.”

Sunflower Electric also is seeking judicial rulings that would allow plant construction to proceed. A legal challenge in Kansas could make its way to state Supreme Court soon, and oral arguments on a federal suit filed against the state by Sunflower were held last week.

Cindy Hertel, a Sunflower spokesperson, said today that no ruling had been issued by the judge in the federal case. A clerk in the office of Judge Eric Melgren, who is handling the federal case, declined to speculate on when a ruling could be announced.

- Phil LaCerte

Resource:

• House Bill 2182 : http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2010/2182.pdf

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