Thu, Nov 26 2009
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Kansas: Debate over coal plants casts wide net The bills Sebelius vetoed would allow Sunflower to reapply for its permits, under rules requiring Bremby to approve it.
Also, he couldn’t use his emergency powers to protect the environment to deny an air-quality permit, something he did in Sunflower’s case. Nor could he set pollution rules stricter than those imposed by the federal government, unless legislators approved. Critics believe such changes will make Kansas, in a memorable phrase from Nilles, “the ashtray of the Midwest.” Backers argue such a bill will restore predictability to the permitting process and protect the state’s future prosperity. “There is partnership between business and government,” said Amy Blankenbiller, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Chamber, the state’s largest business group. “That partnership is: The rules are laid out; businesses meet them; the government gives the permit.” None of this has much to do with the Department of Agriculture’s regulation of grocery stores, food processing plants and vending machine companies, except that its bill makes what Neufeld believes is a useful point. The bill clarified that the Department of Agriculture can set rules for making sure such businesses are sanitary and safe. It also clarified the department’s authority to issue fines, to refuse to renew a license and to seize tainted food. In February, the Senate approved it, 39-0. A month later, the House passed it, 125-0, without making a single change. And, of course, the bill contained the provision limiting the secretary of agriculture’s ability to impose rules. “The secretary of agriculture said that did not affect his ability to regulate,” Neufeld said. “And the governor signed it.” When Sebelius signed the bill earlier this month, she said in a statement that she was reluctant to limit any secretary’s authority. Sebelius also said she acted only after consulting with Agriculture Secretary Adrian Polansky and receiving his assurances that the changes wouldn’t prevent him from protecting the public health. Bremby has taken the opposite view the bills Sebelius has vetoed. There’s another key difference: The agriculture bill didn’t order the affected secretary to overturn the biggest permitting decision of his tenure. Responding to Neufeld’s attempt to raise the agriculture bill as an issue, Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said in an e-mail: “This one is easy — tell them to try harder next time.” “They are not the same,” she wrote. Whichever view Kansans accept, the debate over the coal fired plants has pulled in plenty of side issues. To say the discussion about Sunflower’s project has dominated the session doesn’t quite capture the pervasiveness of it. 
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