Article published Nov 21, 2007

Fort Benton council votes to oppose Highwood plant

By KARL PUCKETT

Tribune Staff Writer

The Fort Benton City Council on Monday passed a resolution opposing the Highwood Generating Station, a $720 million coal-fired power plant planned east of Great Falls.

With the Cascade County Planning Board scheduled to consider a land rezoning where the plant is planned Dec. 4, Mayor Rick Morris said it was time for the city to decide whether it supports the plant.

"People are worried about property values, the stigma that a coal-fired generating plant has," he said.

Tim Gregori, the general manager of Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission, said Tuesday he was disappointed that the city didn't ask SME to give a presentation on its project to get both sides.

"We don't view that as a balanced approach of trying to get information before they make a decision, but that's their right to do that," he said.

Fort Benton is the second government to formally go on record opposing the facility; the other is the Chouteau County Commission, which approval a similar resolution in June.

Fort Benton, which is located 35 miles northeast of Great Falls, is located in Chouteau County.

Voting for the resolution opposing Highwood were council members Don Hazen, John Cloepfil, Shawna Holskey, Roger Axtman and Barbara Thomas. Councilman Mike Wigger abstained.

"I just don't think it's a benefit," Holskey said.

Mayors in Fort Benton don't vote unless there is tie so Morris didn't officially weigh in, but said he would have supported the resolution.

The resolution cites the 1.7 billion gallons of water a year the plant would draw from the Missouri River. Fort Benton is downstream from the plant and relies on the Missouri for its water. Farmers also use it for irrigation.

The resolution also cites emissions such as carbon dioxide and mercury. A clean, renewable energy option, such as wind or solar power, is preferred, the resolution states.

Gregori said the 1.7 billion gallons of water equates to less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the river's lowest historic average monthly flow. About 25 percent of the water used by the plant would be returned to the river after being treated at the water treatment facility in Great Falls, he added.

The resolution states that the plant will emit 40 pounds of mercury annually. Gregori said the current estimate is around 22 pounds, which meets Montana's mercury-control rule — one of the toughest in the country.

The plan for Highwood Generating Station includes 6 megawatts of wind power, in addition to the coal-fired portion, and SME is committed to expanding the percentage of renewable energy it offers to 15 percent by 2015, which Montana state law requires, Gregori said.