Don't rush to add coal plant, EPA warns (Nevada)

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2007/aug/09/566652256.html

The Environmental Protection Agency is questioning whether Nevada is shouldering too much of the burden of generating power for the Southwest.

The question should be answered, the agency suggests in a letter to the Bureau of Land Management, before the BLM approves another coal-fired power plant in the state.

The EPA's comments come as the BLM is revising an environmental impact statement for the 1,590-megawatt White Pine Energy Station, a proposed privately owned coal-fired power plant near Elko.

The BLM, which owns the land on which the plant would be built, should identify who would purchase the power - enough for nearly 1.2 million homes - and evaluate the trade-offs between the need for more power and damage to the environment, the EPA advised.

<more>