June 26, 2007

By RUSSELL STIGALL

Frontiersman MAT-SU - A Mat-Su Borough ordinance governing the permitting of power plants could encompass potential environmental impacts and mitigation efforts by future power generation in the Mat-Su Valley.

The Borough Planning Commission and Assembly will soon hear an ordinance to regulate electric generation that would require power providers to submit to the Borough an application to build plants over 50 megawatts in size. The application would have to be approved by the Borough planning commission.

Local wholesale power purchaser Matanuska Electric Association plans to build two new 100-megawatt electric generators, one coal-fired and one fired by natural gas and could be required to get a Borough permit before moving ahead.

MEA spokesperson Lorali Carter believes the Borough drafted its plan in response to pressure from the Valley planning group Friends of Mat-Su. Many of the concerns Borough residents have with coal plants are based on old coal-burning technology.

“It's not a fair comparison to MEA's [circulating fluidized bed] clean coal plant,” Carter said.

CRB coal burners emit less mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide than traditional pulverized coal plants, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. But CFB burners emit more of the costly greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Though cleaner than pulverized coal, CFB coal burners will still emit some pollutants.

“Just like we have pollutants coming out of the tailpipes of our cars,” Carter said.

More than 700 tons of nitrous oxide and sulfer dioxide combined and more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide will come out the smoke stack annually, according to MEA's Integrated Resource Plan.

Carter said MEA plans to use carbon capture and sequestration to avoid much of the cost of emitting CO2.

Borough Manager John Duffy said the Borough acted independent of FoMS.

“The Friends of Mat-Su did not speak to me and did not ask me to develop ordinance. And I have not heard that they asked Tom [Kluberton],” Duffy said. Assembly member Tom Kluberton advised Duffy to draft the ordinance.

The Borough is not looking to increase the electric rates of its constituents, Duffy said. It doesn't want to turn control of the Valley's power to Anchorage. “We want affordable energy that is produced without major or significant impacts to public health or the environment.”

The Borough's ordinance is being based on a state-wide ordinance enacted in California, Duffy said. The ordinance has been vetted. At 71 pages, it is longer than the Borough's intricate coal bed methane ordinance.

The power provider's application to the Borough planning commission must include sufficient environmental data to identify the potential impacts of the proposed power plant and identify mitigation measures, Duffy said. This data will cover at least 15 subjects; cultural resources, land use, noise, traffic and transportation, visual resources, socioeconomics, air quality, public health, hazardous materials handling, waste management, biological resources, water resources, soils, geological hazards and resources and transmission system safety and nuisance.

The ordinance requires potential power providers to predict and monitor emissions from the proposed plant of sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, mercury, sulfur hexafluoride, particulate matter 10 and particulate matter 2.5, according to the proposed document. Much of the Borough's air pollution regulations for particulate matter came from information in the American Lung Association's report, “State of Air: 2007.”

The ordinance requests information about the amount of particulate matter the power plant will emit from piles of coal and smokestacks. PM 10 and PM 2.5 are particles many times smaller than the width of a human hair, according to the American Lung Association. The particles can be solid or liquid, can be a heavy metal like mercury and are too small for the body's natural defenses, cough and sneeze. Particulate matter can cause premature birth, worsen asthma and trigger heart attacks.

The Borough ordinance does not set limits on emissions amounts, Duffy said. “We let [Environmental Protection Agency] and [Federal Energy Regulatory Control] handle that.

Duffy said the information requested by the ordinance will alert people to the potential impacts of a power plant and help identify the best available technologies to limit the impact.

“To let people know what they're getting in to,” Duffy said.

Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Supervisor Sally Ryan said that based on MEA's emission estimates for SO2 and NOx the co-op's coal-fired plant would have to meet the agency's Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations for a major emitter. EPA regulates the six criteria pollutants sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, lead, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and ozone. Mercury also will be a regulated pollutant soon.

“One of the biggest issues, as far as permitting goes, is mercury,” she said. “The [Clean Air Mercury Rule] CAMR will be a big issue.”

MEA estimates its coal-fired generator will emit 2.6 pounds of mercury annually. In 2018, the state will be limited to 10 pounds total of emitted mercury under the CAMR rules.

The ordinance requires applicants to provide a description of the existing visual setting at the proposed power plant site. The applicant must include a photo of the site, modified with a scale artists rendering of the proposed power plant and support buildings. The applicant must also identify the directions from which the power plant might be seen, especially from scenic roadways or corridors.

The ordinance will also require applicants to describe the transportation of the proposed power plant's fuel. In MEA's case the co-op would have to trace its fuel from Healy and the Usibelli Coal mine, down the Alaska Railroad to the South Glenn gravel pit site. MEA will also have to describe how the resultant ash and slag will get back to Healy.

Potential power providers must also obtain a third-party independent analysis of the proposed power generation site, Duffy said.

The Borough Planning Commission will have the final decision over whether or not the proposed electric generation plan fits in with the Borough community.

“They could say that it's too close to a hospital or an air field or that it has a negative impact on salmon runs,” Duffy said.

Duffy said Borough residents can comment on the ordinance now.

“What you typically find is there are a lot of very informed people in our community. You can imagine the creative solutions that might be proposed,” Duffy said.

The Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission will discuss the ordinance on July 16, followed by the Borough Assembly on July 17.

For more information about the Borough's power plant ordinance visit www.matsugov.us.

Contact Russell Stigall at 352-2267 or russell.stigall@frontiersman.