The problem with coal

Thursday, May 24, 2007 | 6:53 a.m.

National Park Service officials are concerned that emissions from a proposed coal-fired power plant in White Pine County could taint Great Basin National Park by polluting its lakes, trout population and forests.

A May 19 story by the Las Vegas Sun reports that Park Service officials voiced their opposition to the 1,590-megawatt generating station in a pointed letter to the Nevada Environmental Protection Division. The station, which could provide power for at least 1 million homes, is being proposed by New Jersey-based LS Power Group. The company has applied to the state agency for an air quality permit.

But as the Sun's Phoebe Sweet reports, Park Service officials say sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in the plant's emissions could pollute Great Basin's lakes, kill the park's thriving cutthroat trout population and foster the growth of invasive plants. The emissions also could harm the park's forests - including its 5,000-year-old bristlecone pine trees.

The fact that these concerns were raised by the Park Service - an agency under the auspices of the Bush administration's Interior Department - is nothing short of astonishing. Under Bush's watch, Interior Department agencies have aggressively sought new permits for oil and gas drilling and coal-fired plants on public lands.

Charles Benjamin, director of Western Resource Advocates in Nevada - a nonprofit environmental law and policy group that favors alternative fuels over burning coal - told the Sun that from a bureaucratic perspective the letter's tone and contents are the "equivalent of putting up a giant neon sign."

If that is what it takes to gain state environmental protection officials' attention, then bring out the neon.

Great Basin is a remote park near the Nevada-Utah border. It attracts about 90,000 visitors per year, a number that hardly compares to more popular parks such as Yellowstone, which sees an estimated 2.8 million visitors annually. But this is not a popularity contest.

Congress and state lawmakers are correctly exploring ways to expand cleaner energy alternatives and increase conservation efforts. State officials should not allow any company to build carbon dioxide-belching coal plants where they can damage national parks that embrace such treasures as bristlecone pines - the oldest living trees on the planet. And, just as importantly, our nation should be placing more emphasis on developing energy alternatives and moving away from building new coal-fired plants, period.