By Heather Jensen Weekend Anchor/Reporter
News 3 On Your Side
Bobby McLendon enjoys the simple life in Early County.News 3 On Your Side
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Stumble It!“It’s an extremely nice community,” he says.
But his simple life has been complicated by plans for a coal plant.
“I was in favor of it at first and I did some investigations,” says McLendon.
Longleaf Energy Associates, LLC (parent company LS Power Development) has been planning a facility for the county since 2001.
The company has been given the go ahead by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to build the coal plant on a 2,000-acre wooded lot, less than five miles from the McLendon farm.
It’s the not the distance McLendon is worried about. It’s the pollution.
“Gets in your lungs, gets in your bloodstream, and causes cardiovascular problems in your heart,” he says.
Coal plants release nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and other particulate matter (PM) into the air.
Longleaf Energy Associates plans to use Best Available Control Technology (BACT) to determine the emissions limits and controls needed, as well as low burners, scrubbers, and filters to reduce some pollutants.
But there's also an issue of water.
Mercury released by the plant could harm the Chattahoochee River and nearby ponds, and the wildlife in them.
The plant will need 27-million gallons of water a day (MGD) to operate, but the company has plans to use wastewater from the Georgia Pacific-Cedar Springs plant.
The company's efforts are enough for the city to get behind the project.
In a phone conversation, Olin Thompson with the Early County Economic Development Authority said, "We personally think this would be a good thing for the area or else we wouldn't be in favor it."
Even McLendon can’t ignore the 100+ jobs the plant could bring to the area.
“Very few here have prosperity and really prosper. And we need anything that can help,” he says.
Anything but a coal plant. McLendon says he'll continue to stand up against something he feels could do more harm than good.
“We’re not going down without a fight,” McLendon says. “Bet on it!”
McLendon has help with his fight. State environmentalists are challenging the EPD permit given to Longleaf Associates, LLC last May in court. The permit allows the operation of the $2-billion plant in Early County.
Court proceedings have been going on for several months. Closing arguments by GreenLaw attorneys will be Thursday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST. GreenLaw is representing the Friends of the Chattahoochee and the Sierra Club.
The judge is expected to make a ruling before December 25. Pending that ruling, either side would have the option to appeal.
If the company is allowed to move forward, the plant could be up-and-running by 2011.
Coal Use
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Georgia depends heavily on fossil fuels, especially coal, to meet its energy needs.
Pollutants from coal use can contaminate the air, land, and water causing harm to people, animals, and crops. However, there is currently a Clean Coal Initiative in the works to drastically reduce pollution from the use of coal.
For more on coal use, visit the U.S. Department of Energy website for Alabama and Georgia.
For more on Clean Coal, visit the Department of Energy's Fossil Fuel page.
