Environment dangers in Kansas

By: Kansas City

Kansas senators failed Thursday to protect the state’s residents from harmful emissions that would come from a dramatically expanded coal-fired power plant near Holcomb.

The Senate approved a bill that essentially gives the Sunflower Electric Power Corp. the right to build a larger facility that could spew 11 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air every year.

The bill now goes to the House.

The senators unwisely limited the ability of the Kansas Health and Environment Secretary to protect residents from harmful air pollution.

Many politicians have sharply criticized Secretary Rod Bremby for rejecting Sunflower’s plans in 2007.

But he made the right call, citing the facility’s future carbon dioxide emissions and their effect on the climate.

The state senators’ decision was an almost comical over-reach. In recent years, Bremby’s office has made hundreds of decisions that have been in Kansans’ best interests.

And the legislators never overruled those moves.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius backs a comprehensive approach that would produce an environmentally responsible energy plan over the next year.

The governor has made it clear she’s not anti-coal.

She has discussed a possible expansion of the Holcomb plant — less than half the size sought by Sunflower — that would produce plenty of power to meet the needs of western Kansas.

The House ought to reject the Senate’s botched bill. Sebelius will have to veto any version of this measure that doesn’t adequately protect the environment.