By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

WALTONVILLE — The Sierra Club has filed an appeal to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency construction permit granted to Power Holdings, Inc., for a synthetic natural gas plant to be built near Waltonville.

In late October, the IEPA issued the construction permit for the proposed plant, which is slated for construction on Tomahawk Lane. According to the permit, the facility would use gasification technology to produce pipeline quality natural gas. The plant would utilize coal from Herrin No. 6 creating a “clean synthesis gas which would be further processed by methanation to produce synthetic natural gas, which would be sold to natural gas suppliers,” according to the permit. The IEPA stated under design specifications for the plant, all standards are under compliance.

The Sierra Club, which has been a vocal opponent of the gasification plant, filed the appeal in Washington, D.C. with the federal Environmental Appeals Board, citing the need for global warming emissions limits in the permit.

“Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases represent a significant threat to public health and welfare,” information from the Sierra Club states. “This ‘endangerment finding’ begins the federal process to regulate global warming pollution from larger sources, such as cars and coal-fired power plants. And just last week, the U.S. EPA held two national public hearings regarding the new rule which will regulate large sources of global warming emissions, like the Power Holdings coal gasification plant.”

Under terms of the permit, Power Holdings will be able to “construct emission source and air pollution control equipment consisting of a plant to produce synthetic natural gas by gasification of coal, including six gasifiers, two gas processing trains (including synthesis gas cleanup units and methanation units), two sulfuric acid plants, two steam superheaters, a cooling tower, and auxiliary boiler, feedstock storage and handling, and other ancillary operations.”

“It is reckless for the IEPA to issue this air permit without limits on global warming emissions, especially since the U.S. EPA is moving forward with federal standards for global warming emissions from power plants right now,” states Becki Clayborn, regional representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. “Companies like Power Holdings are desperately trying to get their permits before federal global warming emissions rules are in place, in hopes that they will not have to comply with the new rule. That is not acceptable.”

According to the Sierra Club, the plant would produce 10 million tons of CO2 each year, the equivalent to adding 1.8 million cars to the road.

The Environmental Appeals Board is the final agency decisionmaker on administrative appeals under all major environmental statues that the agency administers, according to information from the U.S EPA.

“It is an impartial body independent of all agency components outside the immediate office of the administrator,” information states. “The board typically sits in panels of three judges and makes decisions by majority vote. Currently, nine experienced attorneys serve as counsel to the board.”

At this time there are four Environmental Appeals Judges appointed, Edward E. Reich, Charles J. Sheehan, Kathie A. Stein and Anna L. Wolgast.

The Power Holdings appeal was filed on Nov. 25. No actions have been scheduled at this time.