News Flash, This Just In: Coal Power Plants Won’t Cause A Pollution Problem

Isn’t it nice to know that some Republicans are still walking around with the idea that burning fossil fuels and belching smoke stacks do not cause any pollution problems whatsoever. 

Meet Sen. Kip Averitt (R-McGregor), who evidently think burning coal releases fairy dust and jelly beans into the air:

Texas Sen. Kip Averitt, chairman of the Senate’s Natural Resources Committee, says that he welcomes four new coal-fired power units east of Waco but that the state should hold off on permitting lignite power plants.In an interview Monday with the Tribune-Herald, the McGregor Republican said he is convinced the plants TXU and LS Power are planning in eastern McLennan County will not create an air-pollution problem.

FOUR coal power plants won’t create an air pollution problem if they’re built in one county? Do you have, um, like, uh, any studies to back that up Kip?

Evidently Averitt had to do a personal flip-flop on the issue. I wonder if he just prayed about it or if a TXU check came in the mail to his campaign account:

“My first reaction when I heard about four coal-burning plants in my county was to say, ‘Stop — let’s look at this. This doesn’t sound right to me,’ ” Averitt said. “But I took a hard look, and I’m comfortable that it poses no health risk to the citizens of Central Texas. . . . If I didn’t believe this was a reasonably safe proposal, I’d be ready to go to war over it.”

Evidently, it must have been the former, because I actually didn’t find any TXU contributions to Averitt via the Texas Ethics Commission.

Keep in mind, though, that folks in the area aren’t too thrilled about having these belching beheamoths in their back yards:

Last week, Waco city officials joined environmental groups in voicing concern about the plants during public meetings held by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Their concerns include emissions of nitrogen oxide, which can contribute to smog, and mercury, which can affect children’s development. Waco officials, along with Waco State Reps. Jim Dunnam and Charles “Doc” Anderson, say no more coal-fired power plants should be permitted without further study of their cumulative impact on Central Texas.

Averitt, evidently counting on the power plants to spew Fabreeze instead of filthy smoke, says air quality in the region will actually improve even with the coal plants in place:

But Averitt said regional air quality is good now and should improve in coming years because of better emissions controls on cars and industries. He said he expects the new units to emit less nitrogen oxide than TXU’s current gas-fired electric plants at Lake Creek and Tradinghouse Lake, both of which would be retired.

The new plants combined would be permitted to emit about 7,500 tons of nitrogen oxide a year, while the two gas plants now are permitted to emit about 11,000 tons. But the current plants are used only during peak demand times, and their combined actual emissions in 2003 were only 2,558 tons, according to the TCEQ.

Of course, rather than looking at the big picture of whether or not children, dogs and fish in McLennan county will soon be born with 19 toes and seven fingers on each hand, The Kipster says we’ve got to look out for our energy future:

“It’s very easy for me to say, ‘We’re not going to have these smoke-belching factories in my county,’ ” he said. “It would be easy for me to demagogue against TXU, but it wouldn’t do a darn bit of good in being prepared for our energy future.”

I wonder…did he ever think about, oh, you know…cleaner sources of energy or even stiffer regs on the power plants? Or is he towing some invisible line in the Republican Party Platform that says “We *heart* coal!!”

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