LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Supreme Court said today it will review a case involving the denial of a permit to Southwestern Electric Power Co. for a planned coal-fired plant in Southwest Arkansas.
The state Court of Appeals earlier this year overturned the permit issued by the Arkansas Public Service Commission for the $1.6 billion plant in Hempstead County. SWEPCO appealed the decision.
“Obviously we are very pleased that the Supreme Court has chosen to review the case,” SWEPCO President and CEO Paul Chodak said in a news release today.
“This is an important case — both for the Turk Plant and for the process used to approve major utility projects in Arkansas for more than 30 years,” Chodak said. “We believe the record in the case will show that the approval process was correct and that the Turk Plant approval should stand.”
SWEPCO is continuing construction of the plant, he said, adding that under state law the permit issued by the PSC remains in effect during the appeal process.
Rick Addison, attorney for the Hempstead County Hunting Club, which opposes the permit, said Thursday he expects his client to seek a hearing before the high court.
“We’re looking forward to appearing and making our case to the Arkansas Supreme Court,” Addison said.
The hunting club and other landowners who sued to halt the plant had appealed the PSC’s November 2007 decision to grant Shreveport, La.-based SWEPCO a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need, or CECPN, for the 600-megawatt facility. The landowners claim the plant will harm the local environment.
The Court of Appeals in June found that the PSC was required by state law to consider all matters related to SWEPCO’s application in a single proceeding, but instead it considered several related issues in separate proceedings.
The court also said the issue of alternative locations for the plant was not adequately addressed before the PSC granted the certificate.
Chodak, when announcing the appeal in June, said the Court of Appeals misinterpreted state law. He said the PSC followed the law and employed procedures that have been in place for decades.
