Commissioners ready to sign deal if state OKs project

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau County Commission is ready to roll out the financial welcome mat for a proposed power plant if the project meets state air emission standards.

Gerald Jones, presiding commissioner, said the commission is willing to grant tax breaks to Kinder Morgan Power Co. and issue bonds for the $300 million project if the state grants a permit to build it.

But Jones said the commission won't approve any deal without a state permit.

"It doesn't make any sense to sign anything until we know if they are going to be there," Jones said Monday.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has refused to issue a permit without design changes to reduce smog-producing emissions. Kinder Morgan has appealed to the Missouri Air Conservation Commission. The appeal is still pending five months after the DNR officially rejected power plant plans in southwest Cape Girardeau County.

Jones doesn't believe the project poses any environmental concerns. Colorado-based Kinder Morgan wants to build the 550-megawatt plant on Route U between Crump and Whitewater, Mo.

Jones was born at Whitewater and relatives still live in the area. He said he wouldn't back a project that would harm the environment.

If the DNR grants a permit, Jones is confident the project won't pollute. "I have to assume that if the state issues the permit, then it is environmentally correct," he said.

Money to Delta

Jones said the county and the Delta School District, primarily, would benefit financially from the project.

Kinder Morgan wouldn't pay property taxes on the plant for 15 years while it paid off the construction bonds. During that time, the company would pay $13.5 million to tax-funded entities. Most of it -- $9.42 million -- would go to the Delta School District.

The proposed agreement also would provide $2.5 million to an economic development fund that would be run by the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association and $780,000 to the Whitewater Fire Protection District.

The remainder would be divided among the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, Riverside Regional Library and other tax-funded agencies.

"Our motivation for the financial incentive was to negotiate a good deal for the Delta School District and I think we have done that," Jones said.

Cheryl Kieffer, who lives near Whitewater, said the county commission needs to hold a public meeting so she and other residents near the site of the proposed plant can ask questions and voice their concerns. Kieffer is part of a loose-knit group of area residents known as Cape Citizens Against Pollution that has questioned the proposed plant's impact on well water.

County residents will get a chance to be heard if the state approves the project as the DNR would hold a public hearing, according to Jones.

Kieffer said the state permit only deals with air emissions. Residents, she said, are concerned that the power plant might draw down water levels in their wells. Company officials believe the water table is sufficient to handle the needs of the plant and area residents.

She said the county commission last year promised to meet with residents before inking any deal with Kinder Morgan.

Meeting not planned

But Jones said the county commission never promised such a meeting and doesn't plan to hold one. Jones said the county commission can't regulate the plant.

Jones said plant opponents have criticized him unfairly. "They are making it sound like I am the bad guy. I don't have any permitting authority," he said.

The presiding commissioner said county residents will get a chance to be heard if the state approves the project. The DNR would hold a public hearing. Kinder Morgan also has talked of holding public meetings in Whitewater and Delta, Mo., to explain the project.

Jones said the county commission likely would attend those sessions, but won't host any meetings.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123