Board of Cascade County Commissioners                                         25 February 2008

325 2nd Avenue North, Courthouse Annex, Room 111

Great Falls, MT 59401

 

Dear Chairman L. Olson and Commissioners J. Briggs & P. Beltrone,

 

Citizens for Clean Energy (CCE) formally protests the rezoning of the Urquhart agriculture land to permit construction of a coal plant. We respectfully request the application be tabled until the many grievances and shortcomings of this process are addressed. Since the public hearing on this matter, several additional issues have arisen:

  1. Serious irregularities of an improperly seated County Planning Board, whereby Mr. Bill Weber failed to recuse himself from the deliberations (see attached) and the arbitrary exclusion of Mr. Jim Dawson from participation by teleconference on 4 Dec 2007.

 

  1. On February 8 the Montana Board of Environmental Review (BER) raised concerns about the emissions-control technology that is planned for fine particulate matter at the proposed coal-fired plant. The Highwood plant's air-quality permit was appealed by Citizens for Clean Energy and the Montana Environmental Information Center. We contend that the power plant can't legally proceed until DEQ requires Southern Montana Electric (SME) to install pollution controls to reduce emissions of PM2.5. ÒWhen it comes to the public health of Montana, I know we can do better," said BER member Robin Shropshire. The BER will convene on April 4 to further consider this issue. It would not be prudent for the County to rezone the Urquhart property before SME has a valid air permit.

 

CCE appreciates the generous patience of the commission at the 15 January 2008 hearing, but we were greatly disappointed in the inequitable conduct of the hearing. The proponents essentially filibustered the process uninterrupted for over five hours with a tedious multi-media presentation, numerous arguments by their attorneys (not severely limited to only seven minutes allowed for Mr. Roger Sullivan, attorney for the Salem Road landowners) and a host of proponents, almost all connected financially with the proposed plantÕs construction.

 

It is conceivable that the first opportunity for opponents to speak would have been well after ten PM, had citizens not asserted the right to speak in opposition at the 8:00PM break. Only after this intervention were opponents finally afforded the opportunity to speak (with interruption) after 8:30 PM, but still too late for many opponents who left out of frustration, despair and weather concerns. As our Declaration of Independence so eloquently states, let us not allow any citizens to be Ôfatigued into complianceÕ in such a manner.

Sincerely,

 

 

Richard D. Liebert, Chair