Friday, August 3,
2001
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Company postpones power plant vote again By JOHN
THOMPSON
Williams Company is postponing its request for a power plant once again. South Fulton residents will have to wait at least until January to know whether the 1,230-megawatt power plant will be built in their backyards. Williams spokeswoman Paula Hall-Collins confirmed this week that the energy company has notified Fulton County to postpone a vote on the Fulton Energy Center until January. Williams has an option on a 288-acre tract on Peters Road in South Fulton County and wants to build a natural gas-fueled power plant on the site. In recent weeks, the company has conducted informational meetings with several local groups, and a meeting with officials of the Christian City senior/children's facility convinced Williams to slow the process down. "We're very sensitive to the needs of the community and we want to make sure all the necessary information is provided to everybody," Collins said. During the meeting with Christian City, several issues concerning health came up at the meeting. Williams is currently completing air quality studies and wants to assure residents that the plant will exceed all federal and state health guidelines. Christian City CEO Bob Crutchfield voiced several concerns for his residents at the meeting. He said that potential sound and light pollution, as well as noise during the construction phase would pose problems for his elderly residents. "It would raise the risk of hypertension, stress and sleeplessness, all of which dramatically affect the health of older citizens," Crutchfield said. Crutchfield also is concerned about possible expansion of the facility. "We were told that construction of this facility could only be the beginning. Future expansion is not only possible with space provided on the site, but highly probable as demand for energy increases. It is our opinion that construction of this power plant would dramatically curtail future senior housing development and the planned construction of a new home for the children's village," he added. Collins said that many of Crutchfield's concerns were valid and Williams would work to provide specific answers to the questions.
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