Sunday, August 12, 2001
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Sunday, August 12, 2001 |
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Council wants answers on power plant
By MONROE ROARK
Add Fayetteville to the list of local jurisdictions with more questions than answers concerning the power plant proposed for south Fulton. Williams Company recently announced that it will wait until January to seek a vote on the 1,230-megawatt facility, known as the Fulton Energy Center. Williams has an option on a 288-acre tract on Peters Road in south Fulton, between Ga. highways 138 and 92, 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 great deal of public input has urged Williams to slow down the process. Several neighborhood associations in north Fayette and south Fulton have banded together to oppose the plan, saying the plant would be too close to their homes. The Atlanta Regional Commission recently voted unanimously to treat the project as a Development of Regional Impact, which means the company will be required to give more detailed information. One of the heaviest criticisms of Williams Company so far has been what many feel is an inadequate amount of information about the project, and the company has promised to improve on that to help alleviate residents' concerns, which is one reason the project has been delayed, according to a company spokesperson. Early estimates are that Williams would use nearly 6.5 million gallons of water a day to keep the power plant running. It takes 9 million gallons to supply all of Fayette County on a typical day. The Fayetteville resolution, which will be voted on by the City Council at Thursday night's regualr meeting, requests that Union City require an environmental impact statement. A portion of the plant would be located in Union City, with the rest falling in unincorporated Fulton. "Information currently available contains alarming estimates of pollutants that will be dispersed into the air, approaching the annual emissions of approximately 26,000 automobiles," the resolution reads. "The city of Fayetteville and officials have been contacted by concerned citizens and residents who have attempted to learn about the proposed project and who are disturbed by the quality of information made available by the Williams Company, specifically the lack of details and factual data relative to the types, amounts and long-term effects of the pollutants that will be present for as long as the facility is in operation," according to the resolution. The Fayette Association of County Governments has also voted unanimously to ask Fulton County to require and environmental impact statement as well.
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