POWER PLANT FACES SOME UNRESOLVED ISSUES

A power plant in southwest Cape Girardeau County would be good for the county's economy.

But there are environmental and other concerns which must be resolved before it goes forward.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will require environmental compliance before it gives Kinder Morgan Power Co. permission to build the $250 million plant along Route U near Crump.

The plant would generate electricity with natural gas- and steam-powered turbines, and the electricity would be transmitted over AmerenUE lines.

The site was chosen because it is near an AmerenUE substation and electric transmission lines, and it's not far from a natural-gas pumping station near Marble Hill.

Kinder Morgan would build a natural-gas pipeline from the Marble Hill station operated by Natural Gas Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Inc. of Houston, whose chief executive officer, Richard Kinder, grew up in Cape Girardeau.

The project could provide more than 200 construction jobs, and the work could pump $20 million into the local economy. The plant would operate with about 25 employees and result in economic dividends of $4 million annually.

Missouri's Department of Natural Resources is most concerned about air pollution, although the effect the plant would have on the underground water supply also has become an issue that needs to be resolved.

The DNR is concerned that the nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions from the plant could contribute to smog, and it wants changes in the design or operation of the plant to restrict the release of those emissions.

While an engineer for the company contends the plant and others like it that Kinder Morgan is building around the country are "extremely clean," the company and DNR have yet to agree on how the emissions should be reduced.

When an agreement is reached, DNR has 184 days to decide whether to issue a permit, and that allows time for a public hearing and comments.

The plant would require a tremendous amount of water, and the company already has dug two wells.

Last month a sinkhole about 25 feet in diameter and 17 feet deep developed on nearby property, and its owners are concerned that the well may have caused it. The sinkhole since has grown larger. The state geologist's office is investing.

There is no reason to believe these issues won't be resolved in a manner that satisfies the DNR and the company's needs without causing irreparable harm to the environment. But these issues demand further airing.

Kinder Morgan has managed to meet requirements in other states, and the local economy would benefit if the company can do the same in Missouri.