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Friends Alert !
No New Coal: the first coal fired power plant in over 30 years has been proposed in Georgia. Currently, Longleaf Energy Associates, a branch of LS Power based in Princeton, New Jersey, holds a draft permit from the Environmental Protection Division to build a 1200 MW conventionally fired coal burning plant in Early County. This energy is not even needed and will be sold out of state. The final permit is currently in litigation. Join us at www.green-law.org for more information and to sign up. We will contact you based on your preferences.
Please contact Governor Perdue and tell him this is the wrong direction for Georgia’s energy future:
Governor Sonny Perdue
203 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-1776
(404) 657-7332 fax
Please view our website or call 229-723-3192 for more information on how this plant will effect you and your family. Legal action must be taken to stop this plant from being built. Please donate generously to our legal fund today. We are an I.R.S approved non-profit organization, so all donations are tax deductible. Please mail your support check or money order to:
Friends of the Chattahoochee, Inc.
20181 State Road 39 South
Blakely, GA 39823
Friends Letters
Please send in your letters and comments so that we may publish them in our Friends Letters section. We are requesting observations and comments on the recent EPD Hearing held in Blakely held July 28, 2009. Send your submissions to:
Georgians Should take a Deep Breath Before Bringing a Coal Plant
by Bobby and Jane McLendon
Blakely, Georgia
To many Early County residents the choice is clear. They don't believe that the construction of the mammoth coal-fired power plant proposed by New Jersey-based LS Power Company on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Early County would be a positive addition for the people of their home county or for Georgia.
After researching information about the plant for the past 8 years, a group of residents have become increasingly alarmed at the serious health risks and the environmental pollution that the plant would bring. They also feel that the economic contract offered by LS Power Company to Early County is not nearly enough.
Friends of the Chattahoochee was formed in 2001 out of concern for the environment and the long term prosperity of the area. After expert advice from scientists, physicians, and economists the group is passionate in the belief that the huge coal plant proposed for Early County would be a damaging presence in Georgia lasting 50 or more years into the future.
The 1200 megawatt coal plant proposed for Early County would emit tons of chemicals that would greatly harm the environment and indeed, the very wellbeing of people who live there or nearby. It will emit gases and neurotoxins that are proven to have serious effects on human health. It is well known that pollution does not recognize county or state lines. Wind and water currents carry the pollutants over a wide area.
To be specific the coal plant LS Power Company proposes to build in south Georgia will emit Nitrogen Oxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Mercury, and Particulate Matter, to name a few of the pollutants that will be most damaging to our health.
The Longleaf Energy Station, as it is known, will be allowed to emit over 1300 tons of Nitrogen Oxide annually and over 3000 tons of Sulfur Dioxide annually for the next 50 years. The respiratory impacts of these toxins is that breathing can become more difficult and can cause respiratory illnesses. . The acid rain created by these toxins damages forests and crops, changes make-up of soil and makes lakes and streams acidic and unsuitable for fish.
Each year, the plant will be allowed to emit up to 158 pounds of mercury. Mercury is a neurotoxin that interferes with brain function and the nervous system. Mercury from coal plants falls into waterways and goes up the food chain as large fish consume contaminated smaller fish. According to the EPA , 1 in 6 babies born each year have being exposed to excessive mercury in their mother's womb, which can result in brain damage, lower IQ and developmental disorders.
Burning coal produces ash and particulate matter that blows from huge stacks into the atmosphere. The plant proposed for this area of Georgia will burn an estimated 150 train carloads per day emitting an estimated 800 tons of fine particulate matter annually. Much of the particulate matter will be microscopic (2.5microns)-small enough to bypass the body's natural defenses such as nose hairs to enter the body through the windpipe and lungs, causing stroke and heart attack and aggravating cases of allergies and asthma.
Many Georgians remember the smoke from the fires of the Okefenokee Swamp of recent years. Georgians will not be able to smell, see, or taste the particulate matter that the coal plant is permitted to emit. Dr. Sammy Prim, retired radiologist and and Board Member of Friends of the Chattahoochee, explains the health risks that will come with burning coal. He concludes his explanation by saying that “this has become a moral issue.” If people who live here know the risks to their health that will come with a coal plant, it is hard to imagine anyone anxious to have one.”
The Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies in Chattanooga, Tennessee released this year “An Analysis of the Economic Impacts and Financing of the Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plant in Early County.” The study cites the escalating cost of coal, of escalating construction costs, the uncertainty of the cost of controlling carbon dioxide emissions, and states that the economic benefits have been overstated.” It seems that coal plants are becoming increasingly risky investments.
Admittedly, Georgia needs jobs. However, Georgia stands to gain thousands of “clean energy” jobs from a combination of federal energy legislation and the federal economic stimulus program.
It would be a shame to lock in outdated technology in Early County when smarter ways of producing energy are on the threshold. The price is too high in every respect..
Coal Fired Facts
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Coal Fired Power Plants Emit Mercury |
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Mercury is a dangerous and potent toxin that contaminates fish and causes a variety of health problems, including damage to the nervous system of unborn children |
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Most of the Mercury emissions from coal-fired plants land within 30 miles of the plant |
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One drop of Mercury can contaminate a 25-acre lake to the point where fish are unsafe to consume |
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Mercury will never degrade in the environment, and it accumulates in fish and sediment over time |
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LS Power is proposing to emit over 220 pounds of Mercury per year- an astonishing amount considering the dangers. |
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Coal Fired Power Plants emit a variety of other toxic substances including sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid mist. |
Damage to Agriculture
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A variety of row crops such as peanuts, corn, and soybeans are susceptible to coal-fired plant pollutants, even at very low levels |
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Studies at Auburn University have shown that pine tree growth, including Eastern White Pine and Loblolly Pine, is reduced by 20% over its life cycle due to ground level ozone, sulfur dioxide, and other pollutants associated with coal-fired power plants. (Click on the Auburn Studies and UGA Studies link in the navigation menu for more information) |
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LS Power has predicted that when they begin emitting pollution, the level of sulfur dioxide in the area will be about twice as high as the levels that the Tennessee Valley Authority found to cause damage to Loblolly Pine when TVA studied the effects from a coal-fired power plant in NE Alabama called Willows Creek |
Your Health
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Coal-Fired Power Plants emit sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid mist. These two pollutants lead to the formation of fine particulate matter, commonly known as soot |
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Fine particulate matter has been linked to asthma attacks, decreased lung capacity development in children, lung cancer, heart attacks, and premature mortality |
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Fine particulate matter has been shown to cause respiratory problems not only in humans, but also in horses |