State Supreme Courts Gives Sierra Club Big Win

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) The Sierra Club of Utah is "jubilant" today after the Utah Supreme Court ruled unanimously in its favor on two cases regarding coal power plants in Sevier and Millard Counties. The high court has granted the Sierra Club standing to continue its challenge of permits offered by the Utah Division of Air Quality.

"The high court recognized that the pollutants from these plants don't respect borders," says Tim Wagner, Smart Energy Campaign Coordinator for the Sierra Club of Utah. "They go beyond counties, they go beyond what the Air Quality board erred on in terms of their judgement of who would be affected by this plant."

Tim Wagner is the Smart Energy Campaign Coordinator for the Sierra Club of Utah. The permits were given in 2004, but the power plants have yet to be built, pending other approvals. With the Supreme Court's ruling, Wagner says the issue is likely to end up back in court:

"The Air Quality Board never even heard our appeals, because right up front they refuted our standing," says Wagner. "So this whole appeal process starts right back over again with the Division of Air Quality Board."

The Sierra Club argues that state regulators did not adequately consider the impact the two power plants will have on the health of Utahns and the surrounding environment. The proposed locations are near the towns of Delta and Sigurd.

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