Activists may sue over power plants

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@thecitizennews.com

A group of Coweta residents is so concerned about the power plants under construction in Heard County that they’ve called in the governor.

The Coweta County Rural Preservation Society wrote Gov. Roy Barnes earlier this month telling him about what they perceive as violations of the Clean Air Act.

In the letter, Preservation Society President Rick Brown said the plants will be used as merchant power plants. The electricity will be produced locally, but sold nationally.

“Whatever water shortage and air quality problems Tenaska and Dynegy create in this region will not be offset by power availability,” Brown wrote.

Brown is upset that the power plants failed to provide adequate public hearings for concerned Coweta residents and that no legal notice was ever published.

Brown also asserts the plants are in violation of air quality standards set for the Atlanta region. He enclosed a letter from Georgia Institute of Technology Professor Dr. Michael Rodgers, who warns of air pollution problems from the plant.

“I have concluded that these plants could significantly impact Coweta County, its municipalities and the remainder of the Atlanta ozone non-attainment area,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers called the permitting of the plants by EPD a “setback” to efforts to bring the region into compliance with federal ozone standards.

If efforts are not made to stop construction of the plants, Brown said his group may pursue a lawsuit as the next step in their efforts to preserve the community.