Public may lose dissent in power plant plans

Utilities could have less scrutiny in building facilities if a state panel approves a proposal.

By CRAIG PITTMAN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 30, 2001

A state commission wants to make it easier for utilities to build power plants anywhere in Florida by curtailing the public's opportunity to oppose them.

The far-reaching plan scheduled for consideration by the Energy 2020 Study Commission in Tallahassee on Wednesday also proposes making it easier and cheaper for power companies to string lines across environmentally sensitive land that the state has bought to preserve.

Public participation has frustrated some controversial utility plans in the past. Opposition from Tampa Bay residents led the governor and Cabinet to reject Florida Power & Light's request to burn a tar-based fuel called Orimulsion at its Port Manatee plant in 1998. This year, Broward County residents have used local zoning codes to try to halt construction of three merchant power plants planned for within about a mile of one other.

Environmental activists contend that the commission, set up by Gov. Jeb Bush last year to study deregulation, wants to give utilities carte blanche at the expense of the public.

"The power industry is using the stalking horse of deregulation to get a bunch of bad stuff done that they couldn't otherwise get done," said Eric Draper of Audubon of Florida.

Commission executive director Billy Stiles denied that power company lobbyists are calling the shots. He said the plan eliminates red tape so the state's growing energy needs can be met more quickly.

"We're just trying to strike a balance here," Stiles said, noting that any changes in the law must be approved by the Legislature.

Currently the Public Service Commission regulates where major facilities are built. The governor and Cabinet have the final say, deciding whether the need for a new power plant outweighs the potential environmental damage. Some new plants are so small they do not need PSC approval, but they still must win zoning clearance from local governments and an air pollution permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The 2020 plan suggests eliminating the governor and Cabinet's role and limiting local government's ability to block projects using zoning votes. The DEP secretary could wind up with sole authority over power plant permits, Stiles said.

"Personally I don't trust the DEP to decide if and where a power plant should be sited in my neighborhood," said George Cavros, a Sierra Club activist helping to lead the Broward power plant fight.

Barry Moline, executive director of the Florida Municipal Utility Association, said his group thinks elected officials, not bureaucrats, should be in charge of such an important decision.

Spokesmen for Tampa Electric Co. and Florida Power & Light said their companies have no position, while Florida Power generally supports speeding up approval of new plants.

DEP Secretary David Struhs, who serves on the commission, could not be reached for comment, but commission Chairman Walter Revell said last month that Struhs has raised no environmental concerns. The governor has taken no position.

Draper and other activists say the commission is ignoring recommendations from its environmental advisory committee to keep the current process for siting new plants. Stiles said the 17-member commission is not ignoring its advisory panel, just rejecting its recommendations.

"The utilities for the last year and a half have played a very large role in the operations of the commission, so the commission members are very sensitive to their positions," said Carole Joy Barice, one 2020 Commission member who opposes the plan.

The Energy 2020 Commission report contends that power lines and electrical substations must be recognized as "necessary for the public health, safety and welfare" and thus "should not be unreasonably prevented from being located where necessary."

As a result, power companies should pay a reduced rate for running lines across state land, even wilderness bought for preservation, the plan says.

Local governments should be required to set a few standards with which utilities must comply, then approve all projects that meet the standards, the plan contends. Any community that stands in the way should be required to pay the utility for any inconvenience, the plan says.

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