Preliminary Background Information on the

Proposed Gas-Fired Power Plant

Prepared by Save Our Valley, a coalition of residents and scientists working together to research and inform citizens, agencies and elected officials

about the impacts of a fossil-fuel power plant. (Dated 4/15/04)

WHAT ARE THE ENERGY NEEDS OF LANE COUNTY?

DO WE NEED THIS PLANT?

• The power plant proposed by Gary Marcus and financed by the Black Hills Corporation will have the capacity to produce 900 megawatts of power: That is nearly as large as the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant at 1100 megawatts.

• This plant would be the largest gas-fired power plant near any of Oregon’s most heavily populous counties.

• EWEB Commissioner, Sandra Bishop, has stated publicly that the Black Hills plant will not benefit Lane County residents. She speculates that our local utility company will not purchase power from the Black Hills Facility, now or in the future. (Eugene Weekly, 4/1/04)

• The Northwest currently has a surplus of energy through 2008, and will have ample energy for several more years thereafter. (Northwest Power Planning Council website)

• BHPP’s capacity far exceeds the increase in energy demands projected for Lane County over the next 20 years. (Eugene Weekly 4/1/04)

HOW DO WE PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS?

• The Northwest Power Planning Council (a non-partisan advisory council created by the Pacific NW Electric Power and Conservation Act of 1980) has reported that the Northwest will not experience a need for additional energy generation until the year 2024.

• The Northwest Power Planning Council recommends NO new gas-fired plants be built. They do recommend wind power and conservation as the best ways to have stable energy supplies that will meet the region’s needs.

• Future supplies of natural gas are uncertain and natural gas prices have increased by 250% in the last five years.

• Natural gas is not appropriate for meeting future energy needs because gas-fired plants produce large quantities of carbon dioxide, a primary contributor to global warming. The federal government is imposing increasingly strict regulations on emissions of carbon dioxide.

• By the time we need additional energy generation, Oregon will have ample time to develop sustainable energy generation technologies, possibly including wind power, hydrogen and solar.

DO WE NEED THIS PLANT TO BOOST LANE COUNTY’S ECONOMY?

• After the initial construction phase, the BHPP would add only twenty-five to thirty permanent jobs to the County’s employment payrolls. (Proponent's Application)

• Local schools will not benefit substantially from property taxes generated by the facility. The state proportionately contributes lesser amounts as local property taxes increase.

• Eugene and Lane County benefit from tourism and outdoor recreation, two industries that rely on our area’s natural resources and beauty. Smog, haze, air quality indexes in the moderate-to-poor range (that can mean restrictions in outdoor exercise), and potential damage to the Sisters Wilderness Area will have a negative impact on the tourism and recreation industries.

DOES THE COUNTY HAVE A ROLE IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS?

• The Oregon Energy Siting Council will seek the advice of Lane County in applying land use criteria from the local ordinances to the proposed energy facility. The applicant must submit a Conditional Use Permit application, (CUP). Kent Howe of the Lane County Planning Department has stated in an January 15, 2004 email to the Oregon Department of Energy that the BHPP would be required to submit a land use application to Lane County under Lane Code (LC) 16.212(4)(mm).

• The applicant intends to pipe water from the McKenzie River to the site either through pipes or irrigation ditches, and must submit a Lane Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) to the County Planning Department.

COMPROMISED AIR QUALITY

· BHPP will have a negative impact on the air quality of Lane County, particularly in the high impacts zones of Coburg, Eugene and Springfield because it will emit the following Criteria Air Pollutants:

Criteria Air Pollutant	Tons per year
NOx	401.2
SO2	51.8
PM10 (particulate matter)	325.9
VOC (volatile organic compounds)	86.1
CO	286.1
Total Criteria Air Pollutants	1151.1
Carbon Dioxide (regulated emissions)	1,700,000

Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions:

• Benzene, toluene, xylenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formaldehyde, and many other organic compounds associated with the combustion of natural gas will be released into the atmosphere from the combustion turbine stacks. (Complete breakdown of HAP emissions can be found in Table 2-13 of LRAPA Application.)

• Toxic heavy metals in air discharges include mercury, manganese, nickel, cobalt, chromium, cadmium and arsenic. Heavy metals attach themselves to the particulate matter. Particulate matter penetrates low in the lungs where there is direct access to the bloodstream.

 
· A significant concern is the plant’s emission of air particulate pollution, a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets. The proposed power plant will emit at least 326 tons of fine particulate matter 10 microns in diameter and smaller (PM10) into the local air each year. This is measured as an additional 70.2 μ/m3 of particulate matter. The emission doubles the overall levels of air particulate pollution from our current level of 67.8μ/m3 to 138μ/m3 putting the local airshed very close to the EPA “cut-off” criterion of 150μ/m3 for poor air quality (West Cascade Facility application and EPA data). 
 
 
					 
				
HUMAN HEALTH CONCERNS
 
· Recent research has linked exposure to relatively low concentrations of particulate matter to premature death. Death rates increase 8% - 17% for every 100μ/m3 in particulate matter at the level of PM10 (New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 329, No. 24, 1993). BHPP will add a potential 70μ/m3 of air particulates to the local airshed. The additional air particulate pollution from proposed plant can result in a 5.6 – 11.9% increase in death rates in Lane County (see table below).
 
 
Oregon Dept. of Vital Statistics, Mortality Data for Lane County 1999-2001
 

	Department Vital Statistics figures adjusted for 2001	Estimated additional death rate due to Black Hills Plant air particulate emissions
Population	324,316 (US Census, 2001)
Death count	2,829	45 – 96 additional deaths in Lane County (adjusted for age)
Crude rate	291.9 (per 100,000)	16 – 35 (per 100,000)

• Particles of this size can lodge deep in the lungs, aggravating asthma, heart disease, and other circulatory and respiratory conditions (DEQ Fact Sheet, May 2002). Health problems for sensitive people can get worse if they are exposed to high levels of PM for several days in a row. An increase in air particulates is associated with increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits for people with heart and lung disease.

• According to the Oregon Lung Association, 39,820 people in Lane County are already at-risk for suffering from lung diseases that are aggravated by poor air quality. 4,082 of these are children 14 years and younger with asthma.

• Nitrogen Oxide 401.2 tons/year

Nitrogen oxides can irritate the lungs and lower resistance to respiratory infections such as influenza. Nitrogen oxides are an important precursor to smog, ozone and acid rain..

• Sulphur Dioxide 51.8 tons/year

The major health concerns associated with exposure to high concentrations of SO2 include effects on breathing, respiratory illness, alterations in the lungs' defenses, and aggravation of existing cardiovascular disease. Major subgroups of the population that are most sensitive to SO2 include asthmatics and individuals with cardiovascular disease or chronic lung disease, as well as children and the elderly.

• Volatile Organic Compounds 86.1 tons/year

Some volatile organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans and can cause reproductive dysfunction.

• Carbon Monoxide 286.1 tons/year

Pregnant women, fetuses, children, and individuals with bronchitis and cardiovascular are at an increased risk from exposures to carbon monoxide. Health effects observed may include early onset of cardiovascular disease, behavioral impairments, decreased exercise performance of young healthy men, lower birth rates, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, increased daily mortality rates (Adverse Health Effects of Exposure to Ambient Carbon Monoxide, 9/2001, University of Arizona, College of Public Health).

· Hazardous Air Pollutants 5.4 tons/year

Hazardous air pollution consists of those substances in the air which are known or suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutation, birth defects or other serious illnesses in people even at relatively low exposure levels.

WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF COMPROMISED AIR QUALITY?

• Air Particulate is the major source of haze that reduces visibility in many parts of the United States, including wilderness areas. Particles can be carried over long distances by wind and then settle on the ground and water sufaces.  The effects of this settling include (www.epa.gov fact sheet):
• making lakes and streams acidic
• changing the nutrient balance in coastal waters and large river basins
• harming the environment by changing the chemical balance and depleting the nutrients in soil
• damaging sensitive forests and farm crops
• affecting the diversity of ecosystems

• Nitrous Oxide and Carbon Dioxide create fogging and smogging, and will obstruct views of the Cascade Mountains. In the Sisters Wilderness Class I airshed these chemicals can interact with pathogens to cause damage to the vegetative environment.

• Carbon Dioxide is a green house gas that acts as the primary contributor to global warming and air pollution. Polluters must pay millions of dollars in fees to a fund to offset carbon dioxide pollution. But the fees offset only a fraction of the CO2 produced, and these are not necessarily applied to local CO2 pollution.

WILL THE PLANT CAUSE SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF LANE COUNTY FARMLAND?

Type of Lane Use	Type of Land	Number of Acres
Plant Site	EFU (Exclusive Farm Use)	52 acres
Pollution Run-off	Wetlands and EFU	55 acres
Power Sub-station	Coburg Hills	2.8 acres
Power Transmission Lines	EFU	12,800 ft. by 140 ft. average width
Fill	Wetlands	28 acres
Mitigation	Wetlands	50 acres
Total Lane County Farm Land Loss		187.8 ACRES plus 2 mile corridor for power lines

• Noise, pollution and effluent discharges all have the potential to disturb farming operations in Coburg including: livestock and dairy operations, organic farms, berry produce, grass seed and orchards.

WHAT IS THE RELIABILITY OF BLACK HILLS CORPORATION, THE MAJOR BACKER OF THE PROPOSED PLANT?

· Black Hills Corporation is an energy company primarily consisting of four principal businesses: electric, coal mining, oil and gas production, and energy marketing.

· On 12/11/2003 Reuters released a report stating that Standard & Poor’s Rating Services had revised its ‘BBB-“corporate credit ratings on Black Hills Corporation from stable to negative. Standard & Poor’s also said that the negative outlook reflects expectations that the company’s cash flow adequacy measures may weaken in the next one to three years.

· On 4/14/2004, Black Hills Corporation’s current quarter earnings were down -37.1% compared with a +15.4% growth for S&P 500 energy sector. Its’ five year growth rate was -5.30. (Standard & Poor’s Report 4/13/2004)