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Public hearing set on Cob Energy Facility
Published October 19, 2003
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public hearing 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Lorella Community Center to discuss an air quality permit that could be granted to the Cob Energy Facility.
The 1,130-megawatt proposed power plant, located about 30 miles east of Klamath Falls and a few miles south of Bonanza, has raised the ire of many local farmers and residents who think the industrial facility will destroy their rural way of life.
Originally, the plant was planned as a water-cooled facility that would have used about 10 million gallons of water a day. But the application was changed to an air-cooled plan in July after strong objections from local water-rights activists, a move that reduced the potential water use by 97 percent.
Opponents of the plant are still worried about their quality of life if a plant springs up in their backyard, and the pollution levels caused by the plant are one of their principal concerns.
"You're not going to see such nice sunshine if it's coming through a chemical haze," said Lyn Brock, a member of anti-Cob group Save Our Rural Oregon, at Wednesday's county commissioner meeting.
The air quality permit would allow the Cob facility, which stands for California-Oregon border, to discharge 1,141 tons of regulated chemicals and dust into the air every year. Some emission levels, like the acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide, are actually below Oregon's significant emission rate and therefore won't be regulated.
But the plant would also emit high levels of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, which contribute to acid rain and decrease visibility in an area. The nitrogen oxide emissions would be nine times higher than state regulations normally allow.
If the permit is approved and the plant is built, the facility would have to keep semi-annual and annual reports and emission data on pollutants, among other things.
People unable to attend the hearing can still submit written comments to the department. The deadline is Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. Copies of the entire Cob application are available at the county library. For more information call the Department of Environmental Quality at (800) 452-4011.
On the Net: Find out more about the Cob Energy Facility by visiting http://www.energy.state.or.us/siting/facility.htm#COB.
- By Brook Reinhard
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public hearing 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Lorella Community Center to discuss an air quality permit that could be granted to the Cob Energy Facility.
The 1,130-megawatt proposed power plant, located about 30 miles east of Klamath Falls and a few miles south of Bonanza, has raised the ire of many local farmers and residents who think the industrial facility will destroy their rural way of life.
Originally, the plant was planned as a water-cooled facility that would have used about 10 million gallons of water a day. But the application was changed to an air-cooled plan in July after strong objections from local water-rights activists, a move that reduced the potential water use by 97 percent.
Opponents of the plant are still worried about their quality of life if a plant springs up in their backyard, and the pollution levels caused by the plant are one of their principal concerns.
"You're not going to see such nice sunshine if it's coming through a chemical haze," said Lyn Brock, a member of anti-Cob group Save Our Rural Oregon, at Wednesday's county commissioner meeting.
The air quality permit would allow the Cob facility, which stands for California-Oregon border, to discharge 1,141 tons of regulated chemicals and dust into the air every year. Some emission levels, like the acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide, are actually below Oregon's significant emission rate and therefore won't be regulated.
But the plant would also emit high levels of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, which contribute to acid rain and decrease visibility in an area. The nitrogen oxide emissions would be nine times higher than state regulations normally allow.
If the permit is approved and the plant is built, the facility would have to keep semi-annual and annual reports and emission data on pollutants, among other things.
People unable to attend the hearing can still submit written comments to the department. The deadline is Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. Copies of the entire Cob application are available at the county library. For more information call the Department of Environmental Quality at (800) 452-4011.
On the Net: Find out more about the Cob Energy Facility by visiting http://www.energy.state.or.us/siting/facility.htm#COB.
- By Brook Reinhard
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