Reid’s coal battle on hold

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid's bid to block coal-fired power plants being planned in Eastern Nevada has been shelved -- at least for now.

A Reid amendment that would have stymied the energy projects by redesignating the Great Basin National Park to the most protective federal air quality levels ran into opposition that was encouraged by Nevada's three Republicans in Congress.

Consequently, the provision was left out of a year-end budget bill that was made public on Monday and faces final votes this week.

Instead, the bill contains a compromise that calls for the General Accountability Office to evaluate air quality at the national park outside Ely and to recommend whether it should receive a new designation.

The compromise essentially delays any congressional action on the coal plants into next year. In the meantime, developers will continue to seek environmental permissions from the state and from the Bureau of Land Management to move forward.

Reid, the Senate majority leader, launched a campaign this year to elevate the use of renewable sources of power, such as solar and wind, in Nevada. He said he would be back to fight against what he called "dirty coal power plants."

He expressed confidence the GAO will recommend that the Great Basin Park, created in 1986 with a lesser clean air standard, should be redesignated to Class 1 for visibility and air quality.

"This is an important step toward ensuring that the park remains pristine for future generations," Reid said in a statement. "When the investigation is finished and the park's classification has been changed, this will be one more roadblock to those who wish to foul Nevada's air with the construction of dirty coal power plants."

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Reps. Dean Heller and Jon Porter, both R-Nev., marshaled opposition by Republican leaders when Reid's amendment came to light this month. Reid had vowed over the summer to do "everything I can" to stop construction of coal plants in the state, prompting their action.

The Republican lawmakers maintained coal should remain in Nevada's energy strategy as a provider of baseload electricity while investors continue to weigh increasing development of geothermal, wind and solar power.

The GOP members got behind Sierra Pacific Resources, which is planning the $3.8 billion Ely Energy Center, which would generate 1,500 megawatts using coal as fuel. Electricity would be moved through a new transmission system linking Nevada Power in the south and Sierra Pacific Power in the north.

"We really do believe that the Ely Energy Center is right for Nevada and for our customers," Chelsie Campbell, a Nevada Power spokeswoman, said Monday.

Gov. Jim Gibbons believes that state and federal environmental laws are working and that the developers should be allowed to help meet the state's energy needs if they comply with those laws, said spokeswoman Melissa Subbotin.

Gibbons wants a "balance between protection of wilderness and providing affordable energy to meet the state's growing needs," she said. "We're looking for new alternative ways to meet the needs of the state."

Reid also was gunning for a 1,600-megawatt plant being developed by LS Power about 25 miles north of Ely. Eric Crawford, director of project development for LS Power Group, declined comment because the legislation has not been completed.

A third project is being planned about 240 miles south of Ely by Sithe Global Power, of New York.

Ensign would not comment on the compromise but a spokesman said he was satisfied with it.

Heller said involving the GAO also will give Congress a chance to have a voice on the matter. House lawmakers who worked against Reid complained he was trying to get the air quality restrictions passed without discussing it with them.

"The more information we can have, the better," Heller said. "Hopefully we can discuss it in committee. That was my argument in the first place. This is an issue that has to be discussed. There are a lot of implications to a coal plant in Ely."

"I just want to make sure we have the proper debate," Porter said. "The GAO report will provide additional information and there needs to be scrutiny of the coal plants."

A congressional official familiar with the matter said the compromise also buys the power companies time to move their projects forward, perhaps out of Reid's reach.

"I am not saying this thing would be over by any means, but for them to be able to finish the permitting process is a big deal," the official said.

LS Power expects to receive a state air quality permit imminently. A hearing on the Ely Energy Center is scheduled for next month.

But environmental groups have signaled they are preparing to fight the air quality permits in court, said Charles Benjamin, Nevada director of Western Resources Advocates, which opposes the coal projects.

"There are so many uncertainties out there with regards to the coal plants that it is impossible for anybody to predict," Benjamin said. "The final air permits will be challenged and this process is going to unfold over a long period of time."

White Pine County Clerk Donna Bath said the area desperately needs the power plants to boost tax revenue for local government because the area has been in receivership for 21/2 years.

"We've had several cuts, and we're trying to do the best we can," she said. The tax rate has reached the cap and cannot be raised, but 97 percent of the land belongs to the federal government or other entities that pay no taxes, she said. The Southern Nevada Water Authority may reduce the tax roll even more, because it has purchased ranches for water and is not subject to property taxes, she said.

"I care deeply about our community," Bath said, "and we need the tax base and Nevada needs the energy."

Review-Journal writer John G. Edwards contributed to this report.