Coal project stirs interstate spat (MN/SD)

[jpak]

http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2008/03/06/news/regional/d1f408429da2923887257401006d1f4f.txt

MINNEAPOLIS -- An environmental movement in Minnesota that led to a law to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions is threatening to put the brakes on a power plant expansion across the border in South Dakota.

Though the project near Milbank, S.D., has been approved by that state's regulators, plans to run power lines deep into Minnesota have faced fierce opposition from environmentalists who say it runs counter to Minnesota's move toward cleaner power.

It's a dilemma other power projects could face, experts say, as states pass a mishmash of environmental policies, in particular renewable energy standards. While Minnesota has a plan to cut greenhouse emissions by generating 25 percent of its energy through "clean" sources like wind by 2025, South Dakota has set no such renewable standard.

As early as April, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will decide whether to grant permission for the new power lines and improvements to existing lines. Without that backing, Big Stone II — which would serve 1 million people, about half of them on the western plains of Minnesota — will be sunk.

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[Viking12]

1. CO2 emissions aren't the only issue...water is also source of dispute

The plant will also depend on the waters of the border lake Big Stone Lake.

"The Big Stone II coal plant near Milbank calls for using massive amounts of water. In addition to the 3.2 billion gallon surface draw approved in 2006 by the South Dakota Water Management Board, Otter Tail Power received another permit from the board for an additional 3.2 billion gallons from groundwater last year, even though the board knew that the total came to more than double the amount required to operate Big Stone I, Big Stone II and the adjacent ethanol plant.

In other words, the Board approved permits totaling 28,000 acre-feet per year, not the 13,000 "needed" - like plopping a city (and its water use) the size of Sioux Falls into Grant County. As many know, Big Stone Lake already is very shallow, with an average depth of only 8 feet. In this worst-case scenario, almost half of the lake levels could be gone to help burn more dirty coal. Despite the Boundary Waters agreement in place since the '70s prohibiting Otter Tail from taking water from the lake once levels reach 967 feet, Otter Tail Power has received "emergency appropriation" from the state of South Dakota to withdraw water below this level, without any approval from Minnesota. Worse, the 1970s agreement also gives Otter Tail Power the right to take water from Big Stone Lake from October to April whenever the lake levels are greater than or equal to only 965 feet - and so the three foot drop below current water levels of 968. How is this going to affect lake home-owners, fishing and recreation on Big Stone Lake? Will this undo the millions of dollars of habitat restoration work that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources have put into the lake? These are serious questions, and the public deserves to know what is going to happen to this shared resource.Our water supply is a precious and limited resource."

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080306/VOICES05/803060320/1052/OPINION01