Power plant meeting Thursday

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November 15, 2008

TCEQ to hear comments on Pin Oak application

By Janet Jacobs The Corsicana Daily Sun Sat Nov 15, 2008, 08:36 PM CST

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Dawson Auditorium on the Navarro College campus regarding the air permit for a proposed power plant.

Pin Oak Creek Energy, a LS Power project, has applied to build a 1,200 megawatt power plant in southern Navarro County. One of the crucial steps is getting the air permit from the state. The TCEQ staff has recommended granting the permit, based on the company’s technical design and how much estimated pollution it will emit. The decision still has to be voted on by the commissioners.

The meeting is to answer questions about the plant, and to gather comments from the public that might influence whether or not the permit should be granted.

Officials from LS Power, the parent company of Pin Oak Creek Energy, will be on hand to speak to the public, according to Phil Klazynski, associated project manager for LS Power Development.

“Representatives for both Pin Oak Creek Energy and TCEQ will be attending the meeting,” he stated. “The public will have the opportunity to ask questions of TCEQ and POCE related to the draft air permit during the Q&A; session of the meeting.”

The meeting (it’s not considered a hearing) will consist of two parts — an informal question and answer period, and then a formal comments period.

“All the comments we get we look at, whether they’re in writing or formal comments made during the meeting,” said Erik Hendrickson with the TCEQ.

The preliminary decision to issue the permit is the recommendation from the staff, but that isn’t the last word, Hendrickson said.

“There are other parties involved, and other people have different opinions,” he said. “At some point in time, the opinions will go to the commissioners to evaluate and make a decision.”

If there are any disputes about the facts, then the TCEQ may request a hearing before a state administrative judge in Austin for a ruling.

“A contested case hearing is when the parties contest the facts of whether or not the applicant has demonstrated he met the requirements to get a permit,” Hendrickson said. “At this point, I’m not sure if there will be an administrative hearing or not. That will be decided by the commissioners, but there’s also a process where the applicant (Pin Oak Creek Energy) can request a state ordered administrative hearing, to work it out.”

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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com

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