Daily Archives: July 18, 2012

Holcomb power plant still faces high hurdles

July 18, 201211:47 a.m.

The proposed expansion of the Holcomb coal-fired power plant still faces some high hurdles, the Garden City Telegram reported. In addition to a legal challenge to its air-quality permit (which the Kansas Supreme Court is scheduled to hear late next month), the plant also must meet a deadline and new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. “One of the specific challenges we have right now is that under the proposed greenhouse-gas rule, the Holcomb expansion project and 11 others in the country are given one year to begin substantial construction – they avoid the effect of the greenhouse-gas rule if they do that,” Stuart Lowry, CEO of Sunflower Electric Power Corp., told Garden City leaders. “But the other EPA regulation – the (Mercury and Air Toxics Standards) rule – is effective immediately. And we’re being told that’s not achievable. So we’re sort of being twisted into knots. We could build under the greenhouse-gas rule and not have any negative effect. But if we can’t meet the (MATS) standard, we can’t operate.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Energy, Environment, Kansas courts, President Obama | Comments Off

Not all chambers of commerce are the same

July 18, 20126:00 a.m.

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee is spending big bucks trying to purge moderate Republicans from the Kansas Senate. But it is worth noting that the state chamber doesn’t represent the views of many local chambers. For example, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s PAC endorsed moderate lawmakers, including Sens. Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita, and Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick. And speaking of chambers, what was the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce’s PAC thinking when it sent out a campaign mailer implying that Boeing is leaving Wichita because of taxes and regulations? Boeing said it was the overhead on its large facility and wages (along with a reduction in military contracts) that made its Wichita plant uncompetitive, not taxes and regulations. Is this the message the chamber sends to businesses that are considering relocating here? Find the Wichita chamber PAC’s endorsements here.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Business, Kansas government | Comments Off