By DUANE SCHRAG

Salina Journal

Kansas is once again at the center of a national debate.

When the Legislature reconvenes today for the wrap-up session, the burning question will be whether legislators will override Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto of a bill that would clear the way for construction of two coal-fired power plants in western Kansas and limit the authority of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

"I think there's good reason to characterize the battle here in Kansas as a pivot point in the collective thinking of the country," said Wes Jackson, founder of The Land Institute, 2440 E. Water Well.

Among those gathering in Topeka today will be a film crew from the PBS documentary program "Frontline." The producers have arranged to interview Jackson as part of their coverage.

"Apparently, they're doing a much larger story on the climate change-energy thing," said Jackson, who was notified in advance by "Frontline." "I think the focus is on Kansas, given our governor's administration is the first to say 'No' on the grounds of climate change."

Sunflower Electric Power, based in Hays, has a 360 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Holcomb. In 2006, it applied for a permit to add three more 700-megawatt coal-fired plants. Two of the units would be owned by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Cooperative, based in Colorado, with most of the power from the third unit going to Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, based in Texas.

In 2007, the $3.6 billion project was revised to consist of two 700-megawatt coal-fired plants. In October 2007, Secretary of Kansas Department of Health and Environment Rod Bremby denied Sunflower's permit, citing the plants' carbon dioxide emissions (2.7 million pounds an hour).

"I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing," Bremby said when he denied the permit.

When history is writ

The permit denial infuriated western Kansas legislators, particularly in light of earlier assurances by Sebelius that she supported the expansion. Much of the legislative session was devoted to overcoming the Sebelius' administration new-found opposition to the project.

The last attempt during the regular session easily passed the Senate but lacked by a single vote the two-thirds majority needed to override Sebelius' veto.

Jackson believes that America is gradually coming to see energy policy as more than an economic issue.

"I can't resist looking at the parallels with the Lincoln-Douglas debates," he said. "We as a nation are gaining the cognition of this as a moral issue, rather than merely an economic issue for the short run.

"When the history is writ, this will be more than a mere footnote ... in the struggle to make the great transition from an extractive economy to a renewable economy. These are decisive moments in the collective consciousness of the country."

n Reporter Duane Schrag can be reached at 822-1422 or by e-mail at dschrag@salina.com.

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