Georgia business groups are appealing a judge's decision to halt the construction of a power plant, warning that the ruling could stall other energy plants and hamper economic development throughout the state.
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce warned Wednesday that the decision could have far-reaching implications, driving up energy costs and preventing the construction of natural gas, oil and biofuel plants across the state.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore's ruling relied on the Supreme Court's decision last year that carbon dioxide could be regulated as a pollutant, and environmental activists said it set a precedent.
In the ruling, Moore contended that federal air pollution laws required permits for all pollutants that could be regulated under the federal Clean Air Act - including carbon dioxide. The gas, which is blamed for global warming, is not currently regulated.
The decision halted the construction of the $2 billion Longleaf Energy Plant, which would become Georgia's first new coal-fired plant in more than 20 years.
Environmental groups praised the decision, saying it will help them stave off 30 other coal plants now in active litigation. At the very least, they said, it's a sign that energy companies will face more challenging legal hurdles over coal-fired power projects.
The plant is expected to create more than 100 full-time jobs and give millions of dollars in tax revenues to Early County, where almost a quarter of the 12,000 residents live in poverty. It would power more than a half-million homes through utilities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
Each year it would emit as much as 9 million tons of carbon dioxide, worrying critics who say it could cause health problems in a county that already suffers above-average air pollution.
But the chamber contends the ruling went too far, sidestepping the efforts of federal lawmakers and regulators debating whether to regulate the gas.
The chamber claims that the ruling could delay the construction of any "sizable" new building that relies on natural gas for heat - from office buildings to malls.
"It would be devastating," said George Israel, the chamber's chief executive. "It would cause delays in almost everything, from hospital expansions to school auditoriums."Israel told the Albany Herald newspaper:
“We’re shocked at the decision.”
“If this ruling is allowed to stand, it will not only hinder the ability to supply power to the state, it will have a major negative impact on future economic development in Georgia.”Israel, local Albany officials and a lawyer for LS Power met with the newspaper on Tuesday to lay out their opposition to the ruling.
The court will decide by Aug. 29 whether to hear the appeal. The Sierra Club, which filed the lawsuit, said the ruling does not affect alternative energy projects.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of the battle over the Longleaf Power Station.
"Georgia needs to be on the front of the clean energy economy," said Patty Durand, the group's president. "It's too bad the Georgia chamber chooses not to be a leader of a change that's inevitable."
(With The Associated Press)
