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Department of Ecology News Release - December 16, 2002
02-226
YAKIMA - The Washington Department of Ecology has set a public hearing for Jan. 15, 2003, at Goldendale High School on whether a local power plant now under construction will be allowed to emit more sulfur than is outlined in its current permit.
Calpine Corporation has made a request to increase sulfur dioxide emissions from its Goldendale Energy Center from 4.9 tons per year to 30 tons per year. Since the permit was issued in February 2001, the company has learned that the amount of sulfur in the natural gas delivered from British Columbia to power the plant will be much greater than first thought.
The department (Ecology) is re-opening its comment period on the permit after receiving nearly 300 responses to a proposed decision the agency posted in September. In addition to requesting a hearing, those commenting said they were concerned about how increased emissions might affect their health, winter air inversions and visibility.
"Based on modeling submitted by Calpine and our own analysis, Ecology had concluded that the revision could be approved," explained Bob Swackhamer, an air quality engineer for Ecology. "But since then we've received some thoughtful comments that have prompted us to revisit some points of our analysis, and we want to make sure everyone has a chance to tell us what they think."
An open house is set for 5 p.m. on Jan. 15 at Goldendale High School, and will provide an opportunity to talk to Ecology representatives and others in a small-group setting. A short presentation and a question-and-answer session are scheduled for 6 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by the formal hearing, when testimony will be taken. Written comments will be accepted until Jan. 24 and may be addressed to Bob Swackhamer, Department of Ecology, 15 West Yakima Ave., Ste. 200, Yakima, Wash., 98902-3452.
When completed, the plant will produce about 249 megawatts of electricity from burning natural gas on the outskirts of Goldendale. It is scheduled to begin operating in July of 2003.
Contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, public information manager, (509) 575-2610, or pager (509) 574-0490
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
