Sierra Club threatened over coal plant ruling

The Sierra Club's Atlanta chapter recently got a threatening phone call, likely related to their part in a fight against a planned coal-fired power plant in southwest Georgia.

Chapter Director Patty Durand declined to comment on details of a police investigation, but acknowledged that a police report said that a man with a southern accent, possibly in his 30's placed a call on July 4th, saying:

"We need those jobs. You (expletive) communists have screwed us for the last time. You better have eyes in the back of your head because the bullets are coming."

On June 30th, a Fulton County Superior Court reversed an earlier administrative court decision on an Environmental Protection Division (EPD) permit that had okayed the $1.2 billion project in Early County.

A group of area residents and environmentalists, including the Sierra Club who are fighting the project, say the plant will emit unchecked amounts of carbon dioxide, harmful amounts of dust, and other pollutants.

Proponents say the project will provide hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for the poor rural area.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the battle over the LS Power Longleaf Power Station.

Sierra Club gets menacing call over coal plant ruling

The Atlanta chapter of the Sierra Club recently received a threatening call, presumably over their fight against a planned coal-fired power plant in southwest Georgia.

On June 30th, a Fulton County Superior Court reversed an earlier administrative court decision on an Environmental Protection Division (EPD) permit that had okayed the $1.2 billion project in Early County.

A police report says a white man with a southern accent, possibly in his 30's placed the call on July 4th:

"We need those jobs. You (expletive) communists have screwed us for the last time. You better have eyes in the back of your head because the bullets are coming."

A group of area residents and environmentalists, including the Sierra Club who are fighting the project, say the plant will emit unchecked amounts of carbon dioxide, harmful amounts of dust, and other pollutants.

Proponents say the project will provide hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for the poor rural area.

Local Sierra Club Director Patty Durand declined to comment on the incident when she was contacted on Friday, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the battle over the LS Power Longleaf Power Station.

Lawsuit filed vs. coal-fired plant

The first coal-fired power plant to be built in Georgia in two decades faces a lawsuit. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the Sierra Club, GreenLaw, and Friends of the Chattahoochee are teaming up in the suit. They claim mercury emissions from the Longleaf Energy Station would be built near Columbus would violate the Clean Air Act.