POWER PLANT PLAN HITS SNAG WITH DNR

Missouri's Department of Natural Resources says it won't permit Kinder Morgan Power Co. to build a plant in Cape Girardeau County without changes to lower the potential for air pollution.

DNR officials in Jefferson City said they don't want the plant to belch out nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions, which can cause smog.

The proposed $250 million, 550-megawatt plant on Route U near Crump would generate electricity with natural gas-powered and steam turbines. David Randall, an engineer in DNR's air pollution control program, said the natural gas combustion turbines typically release high levels of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide.

Randall said the DNR wants changes in the design or operation of the plant to restrict the release of such emissions.

But Kinder Morgan executives and the project manager with a Poplar Bluff, Mo., engineering company insist the proposed plant and others like it are environmentally sound.

"They are extremely clean," said Paul Ridlen, project manager with Smith and Co., the engineering firm.

The power company, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Inc. of Houston, applied to the DNR for a construction permit in December. Company executives and DNR officials have been negotiating ever since and have yet to reach an agreement.

Until that happens, the clock won't begin ticking on the permitting process. State law requires the agency to decide on a completed application within 184 days, which includes time for a public hearing and 30 days for public comment.

Randall said the application won't be considered complete until an agreement is worked out that would lessen possible air pollution from the operation of the plant.

Solution sought

Cape Girardeau County commissioners say DNR's environmental concerns are holding up the project. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said he and 2nd District Commissioner Joe Gambill discussed the proposed plant with the head of the DNR in April in an effort to find a solution.

The commission is considering issuing bonds to pay for the plant and land. Kinder Morgan would repay the bonds and receive tax breaks over 10 to 20 years. Work could begin as soon as September with the plant in operation within two years.

The power generated at the plant would be transmitted through AmerenUE lines and sold to utilities across the nation.

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, has been pushing the power plant since last fall. He wants the DNR to approve the project. Kinder said he is "distantly related" to Cape Girardeau native Richard Kinder, who founded Kinder Morgan Inc. and serves as CEO and chairman of the board of the company.

"I have been doing my best to bring this plant to Cape Girardeau County," said Sen. Kinder, who earlier this week asked Gov. Bob Holden to meet with Kinder Morgan executives in an effort to get the project moving.

Kinder said Holden agreed to the meeting, which could occur in the next two weeks.

Other plants planned

The power company has plans to build nine plants, some of which are already under construction in other states.

Kinder said Missouri's clean-air requirements could add $12 million to the cost of the plant if the company has to install equipment to restrict emissions.

That could prompt Kinder Morgan to build the power plant near Jonesboro, Ark., rather than in Cape Girardeau County.

But DNR officials say they believe progress has been made in negotiations with Kinder Morgan. "We are working with them to find something that is technically and economically feasible," the DNR's Randall said.

One possibility, said Randall, is for the company to agree to operate the plant's generators fewer hours. The company wants to operate the generators 5,000 hours a year.