UPDATE: Republicans Blame Governor for Cancelled Coal Plant

By Kellyn Brown, 2-03-09

	Caption: Rep. Scott Mendenhall

Gov. Brian Schweitzer's office has responded to my earlier post in which Republican lawmakers, at least in part, blamed him for Southwest Montana Electric canceling its plans to build a coal-fired power plant near Great Falls. Through his spokeswoman, the governor says any effort to blame regulation for killing the project is completely off base. Here's his office's response, in its entirety:

The failure to build the Highwood Generating Station was due to financing, not regulation. The Highwood Generating Station received every permit it applied for from the State of Montana and received them within the statutory time frames.

Governor Schweitzer’s record on energy speaks for itself:

In the past four years, Montana produced 38% more oil and 34% more gas when only a few states have seen increases.

A new coal mine opened, Signal Peak, the first in 20 years.

Montana went from 1 megawatt of wind energy produced in 2004 to 271 megawatts produced today.

The Many Stars coal-to-liquid project on the Crow Reservation was announced this past year.

The first coal fired plant in more than 20 years, and maybe the last conventional coal fired plant built in the country came on-line in 2005 in Hardin

Here's my original post:

Republicans at the statehouse held a press conference Tuesday and blamed Gov. Brian Schweitzer for a Montana utility abandoning its plan to build a coal-fired power plant near Great Falls.

"We are outraged," Rep. Scott Mendenhall, R-Clancy, said. "The Governor and his board of environmental review have regulated this project to death. But it doesn't have to happen again. Republicans are making good on our promise to build for the future with responsible natural resource development and keeping energy costs low."

Southwest Montana Electric announced Monday that it was canceling its coal plant and would instead moved forward with a smaller natural gas plant and some wind turbines. Matthew Brown, of the Associated Press, writes:

The abandonment of Southern Montana Electric's Highwood Generating Station adds to a long list of coal plants canceled across the country over the past several years. Coal projects have been buffeted by skyrocketing construction costs, climate change pressures and a concerted legal campaign from environmental groups.

The plant's price tag had nearly doubled since 2005 and lawsuits filed by environmental kept pushing back the construction date. It appears the state GOP is trying to use SME's announcement to push at least six bills through the Legislature.

An e-mail from the Senate and House Republican leadership:

HELENA—Republicans expressed outrage today over the loss of the $1 billion coal-fired Highwood Generating Station in Great Falls.

Representative Scott Mendenhall said, "We are outraged. The Governor and his board of environmental review have regulated this project to death. But it doesn't have to happen again. Republicans are making good on our promise to build for the future with responsible natural resource development and keeping energy costs low."

Republican legislators from both houses held a press conference today to discuss immediate steps to prevent future permitting debacles of the kind that just happened to the Highwood Generating Station.

Senator Keith Bales discussed a bill just drafted today that would ease the permitting process. His bill would address appeals of granted permits by requiring the Board of Environmental Review (BER) to decide appeals in 120 days, giving the permit-holder the option to go to the BER or to appeals court for appeals, limiting appeals to issues brought up during the comment period, and more.

Representative Llew Jones said he expected to introduce four bills in the House with goals similar to those of Bales' bills.

At a Senate Natural Resources Committee meeting earlier in the morning, Senator Greg Hinkle introduced his bill to require a bond when challenging a natural resource development.

Senate Majority Leader Jim Peterson said, "The co-ops did everything they were asked to do with regard to permitting the Highwood Generating Station. But because of the never-ending appeals process, they had to give up. A government that doesn't keep its word is not a reliable steady hand, and is not accountable to the people. That's not acceptable."

[End of article]