The current application by Sevier Power Company (SPC) to build a 580 MW natural gas-fired power plant is for an electrical generation facility with twice the capacity of the 270 MW coal-fired power plant they initially proposed.
While gas- fired facilities may typically emit half of the air pollutants of a coal-fired plant, by doubling their output SPC will be emitting the same amount of pollution as their coal-fired plant would have, minus the airborne mercury associated with burning vast amounts of coal. So, absent the mercury pollution, Sevier County could still experience a massive increase in other air pollutants with inversions in a valley much smaller than that of the Wasatch Front, Utah and Salt Lake Counties.
Our Sevier Valley has frequent and severe atmospheric inversions in numbers almost identical to those occurring in the Salt Lake valley. Our inversions are not as noticeable as Salt Lake City’s due to far fewer pollutants in our air, at least for now.
This is verifiable and factual information, but the Utah Department of Air Quality does not seem to want be aware of this or to care at all.
- Air modeling for Sevier Power’s permit application was done using data from Salt Lake and Utah Counties, Cedar City and Grand Junction, Colorado.
- There were no monitoring stations calibrating or benchmarking any data in beautiful Sevier County.
- The non-resident industrialists have simply found a new, clean place to do their dirty deeds.
- As for local jobs, there will essentially be none. Construction jobs for the facility will go to traveling contractors who specialize in this type of plant construction. Plant operators will be specially educated and highly trained professionals from elsewhere.
On Wednesday, April 11, the Utah Department of Air Quality is expected to publish the amount of air pollution in tonnage that they will allow Sevier Power to relentlessly belch and spew into our air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All so that a very few investors can profit at our expense.
Join the farmers, ranchers, miners and mothers who oppose the permission of any additional air pollutants into our pristine valley. The public comment period will begin anew.
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