On the heels of the last TXU post, more details on their latest plant:
The mammoth Oak Grove plant – really two plants in one – would on its first day of operations be among the highest-emitting power plants in the country. Opponents fear it will push Austin into federal violation for smog and ozone pollution, keep other metropolitan cities from lifting themselves out of violation, and dramatically exacerbate the state’s already worst-in-the-nation mercury and globe-warming CO2 pollution. The commissioners (all Perry appointees) voted two to one to approve the permit, overturning a decision by two state administrative law judges recommending that Oak Grove’s permit be denied based on TXU’s failure to demonstrate its pollution controls could function properly with low-grade lignite coal.
Mayor Will Wynn urged commissioners to deny the permit Wednesday. He had plenty of company, including representatives of Dallas and Houston, counties, school districts, and conservation groups, in addition to all of the state’s environmental groups. Representatives of several nearby rural towns spoke in favor of the permit, including Fairfield Mayor Roy Hill, who revealed last year during testimony that the pro-coal group he headed up, Texans for Affordable and Reliable Power, was partially funded by TXU.
Robertson County Our Land Our Lives, a prominent community group representing citizens residing close to Oak Grove, has said it will appeal the decision at the TCEQ and likely file suit in state district court. Perhaps ripe for adjudication is the fact that Oak Grove’s air quality permit was rushed through the TCEQ’s review process under a controversial 2005 executive order fast-tracking coal plant approvals issued by Gov. Rick Perry, which was overturned in state district court in February.
This article appears in June 8 • 2007.