4A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2007
》 ENVIRONMENT
Sierra Club sues state of Kansas
Group says coal alternatives disregarded
BY JOE HUNT
The Sierra Club has raised global warming concerns about a planned 1,400 megawatt coal power plant in Holcomb.
The conservation society is suing the state of Kansas for not allowing a full hearing about the construction of the plant.
Bruce Nilles, attorney with The Sierra Club, said it wants a chance to bring in experts to argue why
the plant should not be built in Holcomb,a town in mid-western Kansas.
The power plant is set to be built in two phases next to an existing 360 megawatt coal power plant. Each phase will contain one coal burning unit.
capable of generating 700 megawatts of electricity. One phase of the plant would generate enough electricity to power more than 11.5 million 60 watt light bulbs. Construction for the first phase will begin in early 2008, and construction for the second phase will begin a year later.
"The largest source of global warming in the U.S. is coalburning power plants. We need to start cutting our pollution."
Nilles said the large power plant would set the U.S. back in regards to environmental protection.
"The largest source of global warming in the U.S. is coal-burning power plants," Nilles said. "We need to start cutting our pollution, not increasing it."
make power so expensive people on the lower end of the economic spectrum cannot afford it, that's a problem."
But Steve Miller, senior manager of external affairs at Sunflower Energy, the company backing the power plant, sees the issue as a matter of supply and demand.
One of the ways Sunflower is trying to appease environmentalists is by scaling back the size of the plant, Miller said. The original design called for three phases of construction with three coal burning units instead of two.
"Coal is the least expensive form of electricity," Miller said. "If we
BRUCE NILLES
Sierra Club attorney
Miller said Sunflower also hopes to make the plant carbon neutral, meaning it would compensate for all
the carbon diox-
the carbon dioxide emissions it produced using a complex chain of systems.
The energy
Algae would be used to recover carbon dioxide from the plant. Miller said the system would be the first of its kind.
from the plant would go to seven states. The first phase of the plant would serve Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The second phase would serve Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and New Mexico.
Robin Pena, city administrator,
said that citizens in Holcomb would
see benefits from the power plant.
Holcomb could see a population increase from the new plant due to the new jobs it would create.
Pena said Sunflower Energy would also contribute significantly to the school district through property taxes.
Kansan staff writer Joe Hunt can be contacted at jhunt@kansan. com.
— Edited by Mark Vierthaler
GAMBLING
Michael Schweitzer/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius shakes hands with Senate President Steve Morris after signing a bill allowing expanded gambling in four Kansas counties, while Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley (D-Topeka) applauds Wednesday in Dodge City. The state of Kansas will receive 22 percent of the revenue from the new casinos.
Sebelius signs casino bill
BY JOHN HANNA ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and other supporters of expanded gambling are celebrating the prospects of Kansas eventually reaping $200 million a year in revenues from legislation that makes it the only state to own resort casinos.
already operating a casino on its reservation in northeast Kansas.
A new law that permits new casinos in four areas and slot machines at dog and horse tracks in three cities, is expected to take effect April 19, despite the threat of a lawsuit from an Indian tribe
Sebelius signed the bill in four communities that could become home to state-owned casino- and hotel complexes designed to attract out-of-state tourists. Her tour started in Wichita and took her to Dodge City, Kansas City and Columbus.
"The governor's been working on trying to get responsible gaming passed in our state for several years," said Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran. "She is proud that it's here."
The casinos and slot machines
would be owned by the Kansas Lottery, though the legislation envisions the state hiring private companies to manage the new enterprises. While the state constitution allows only a state-owned and operated lottery, the Kansas Supreme Court has said the term "lottery" is broad enough to include casino games.
Legally, the new casinos are known as "lottery gaming facilities."
"How many people on the street really know what a lottery gaming facility is?" asked Glenn Thompson, president of the antigambling group Stand Up for Kansas. "It's an invitation for corruption."
Critics question whether the state can delegate day-to-day management decisions. The Prairie Band Potawatomi's chairwoman already has said her tribe will press that issue in court.
The Potawatomi and three other tribes operate casinos under compacts with the state, though the state doesn't receive a share of their profits. Two other tribes, the Sac and Fox and Kickapoo, want to compete for a new Kansas City casino.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. Gov Kathleen Sebelius wants the attorney general to consider filing a lawsuit against a new law she signed Wednesday to expand gambling, rather than waiting for opponents to challenge it.
Sebelius said she plans to meet Thursday with Attorney General Paul Morrison about a potential challenge designed to get a quick ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court to reassure potential casino investors. She said she's confident the new law will withstand court scrutiny.
"If you're asking investors to come forward and make a minimum $225 million investment, they need to know that they're on strong legal grounds, so I think the faster we can get a ruling from the Supreme Court, the better off we'll be," Sebelius said during a bill-signing ceremony at The Woodlands dog track.
Eleven other states have nontribal casinos, but none owns resortcasinos, according to the American Gaming Association.
Governor pushes for quick review
BY CARL MANNING ASSOCIATED PRESS
Morrison spokeswoman Ashley Anstea said the attorney general was reviewing the law "to assure a prompt review of its constitutionality."
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