A public hearing shed more light on Sunflower Electric Power Corporation’s request to renew its acid rain permit for a station in rural Great Bend and allowed citizens to comment on concerns. The hearing was Monday, Dec. 30, at the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Office. It was attended by about nine people, mostly from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the regional Environmental Protection Agency office.
Dan Wells, district environmental administrator with KDHE, said he was authorized to receive testimony relevant to the acid rain permit for Sunflower Electric’s station located at 335 NW 50 Ave., Great Bend. “If issued, the permit will provide sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emission limits for a utility boiler identified as Unit Number GB-3 at the existing facility.”
Parker Robb, an engineer with the Bureau of Air within the KDHE, said the station was previously known at the Arthur Mullergren plant. KDHE issued the initial acid rain permit on Jan. 1, 2005, and it has been renewed every five years following federal air regulations.
Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions are the primary precursors of acid rain from electric generating power units.
“Major reductions in emissions across the power generation sector have been achieved and are maintained through a nationwide market-based emissions allowance cap and trade program called the acid rain program, which is established in those federal regulations,” he said.
“Each sulfur dioxide allowance permits the facility in possession of said allowance to emit one ton of sulfur dioxide (per) year.” The generating unit GB-3 has one allowance each year from 2025-2029, after which the permit must be renewed.
“The number of allowances actually held by Great Bend station unit GB-3, in its account, may differ from the number initially allocated due to allowance trades with other facilities,” he continued. That unit is not subject to an emission limitation for nitrogen oxides under the acid rain program.
One person, Hoisington resident Jettie Zoller, requested to speak at the hearing. She said she had questions about the potential health and environmental risks of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide (pronounced “NOX), based on information shown on the KDHE and EPA websites. “This contributes to respiratory (issues) and aggravated existing heart and lung diseases, especially in children and the elderly,” she said. “It also damages trees, crops, buildings, and soil and lands. The EPA and KDHE websites both show negative attributes.”
From her reading of the legal notice of the hearing published in the Great Bend Tribune last November, she had not realized Sunflower Electric was requesting a renewal of the existing permit. Information was provided before and after the hearing, explaining that the permit request was for a renewal, not a new or additional permit.
No one from Sunflower Electric Corporation attended.
Amy Booke from the EPA gave an explanation of the cause of acid rain and how emissions that cause it have been reduced since the Clean Air Act.
“I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Acid rain was a pretty big problem when I was growing up in the Northeast. The good news is that through the Acid Rain program, through the Clean Air Act, it has gotten a lot better over the last 40-50 years.”
She presented a graph of Sunflower Electric SO2 emissions at the Great Bend station that showed an overall reduction since 2000, with emissions always under one ton per year.
Emissions are not monitored everywhere but don’t need to be, she said. In addition to monitoring, scientists can use computer modeling to predict effects.
Wells said the hearing recording would be transcribed and any issues raised would be reviewed. Staff will prepare a summary regarding any technical, statutory, regulatory or environmental issues. The summary will be directed to KDHE Secretary Janet Stanek with staff recommendations.
The Tribune has requested to be notified of the results.
