Analysis by Walter C. Jones - Power-plant ruling could harm Ga. economy, Chamber warns
August 5, 2008
Depending on who's talking, either the state's growth is doomed or skies will be clear again, both
in relation to a court ruling that business interests hope to overturn.
In the week in which the Georgia Department of Economic Development announced double-digit
growth in jobs and industrial recruitment, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce warned that it could all
come to a halt. It argued that the June 30 decision by Fulton Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt
Cummings Moore would force the state to regulate carbon dioxide emissions when no other state does.
The Dynergy power-plant case Moore rules on has drawn national attention, partly because it's
not every day that someone builds a new coal-fired power plant. Indeed, it would be Georgia's first
in 20 years.
The threshold for regulation, 250 tons per year, is low enough that some engineers estimate
it could impact not just factories and power plants but also shopping centers, apartment complexes
and office buildings that use natural gas or other fossil fuels simply for heating more than
100,000 square feet. That's about the amount of turf on the field of a professional football
stadium.
Besides the time and expense of these new projects applying for air-quality permits is the
question of what the regulations would say. There's considerable question about technology for
capturing and safely storing CO2 that would otherwise be emitted.
What the Chamber wants is for the Georgia Court of Appeals to overturn Moore's decision and
let Congress take the lead. After all, the odds are strong that Democrats will soon have a bigger
majority -- and possibly even a president -- and Al Gore has sold them on the need for reducing
carbon footprints.
In an unusual tactic, the Chamber rounded up others to join in signing a friend-of-the-court
brief asking the Court of Appeals to consider reviewing Moore's decision, which came in response to
a challenge of a permit the Georgia Environmental Protection Division granted a coal-fired power
plant on the Chattahoochee River in Southwest Georgia to Dynergy.
The list of groups signing the brief -- though not contributing to the legal costs --
includes power companies, local chambers of commerce, the Georgia Dental Association, the Georgia
Forestry Association and even the Home Builders Association of Georgia.
Why would dentists and home builders care about air pollution regulation?
"We believe there is onerous regulations on buildings of a certain size, and that will affect
all of Georgia's economic development," said Dr. Mark Ritz, president of the Dental Association.
Ed Phillips, executive vice president of the Home Builders, agrees, noting that few buy new
houses if there are no people moving to the state. Judges shouldn't write new laws, he says.
"If this is such a significant event, then it needs to be done down at the Legislature," he
said of the decision to begin regulating new emissions from such a common gas.
GreenLaw, the firm who convinced Moore to rule against the power plant, has until Aug. 11 to
file a response. Then the court must decide by Aug. 29 if it will consider the appeal.
GreenLaw applauds Moore for concluding that CO2 should have been regulated for the past 18
years under the Clean Air Act of 1990.
While it's unlikely that buildings constructed since 1990 would have to be retroactively
modified to comply, new buildings would be subject.
That's what scares the Chamber. If Georgia starts regulating CO2 before other states, then
companies looking to expand in the South may decide that South Carolina or Florida are more
attractive.
Why postpone fresh air, the environmentalists say. Besides, the regulations will create a
market for CO2 emissions technology, and as the demand grows, innovation will lower the cost, they
assert.
Chamber President George Israel says first things first.
"The Georgia Chamber has long supported alternative energy sources," he said. "But most of
them are not yet ready for prime time. If Georgia wants to avoid the rolling blackouts and
skyrocketing energy costs that have plagued other states, we must lay the groundwork now for a
responsible, long-term energy strategy that does not exclude the energy sources that are currently
available to us."
Meanwhile, Georgia enjoyed a robust 12 months of industrial recruitment from last July to
June 30, despite a weakening economy. Industrial investment rose 17 percent, and jobs to be created
by new plants increased 13 percent during that time -- with more than 60 percent of the new jobs to
be added outside of Atlanta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah.
Gov. Sonny Perdue released the figures Friday. The day before, Forbes.com released its annual
ranking of states in terms of doing business, pushing Georgia up to fifth.
As the economy languishes, would the imposition of costly environmental regulations change
those results?
The answer may not depend on who is talking as much as on who the courts are listening to.