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Sunday AUGUST 10, 2008 :: Last modified: Sunday, August 10, 2008 2:08 AM MDT


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Groups: Coal-to-liquids plant would degrade Wyo's air quality




By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER
Star-Tribune energy reporter

A plan to capture carbon dioxide by gasifying Wyoming coal for liquid fuels has drawn praise in regard to global warming and taking a step toward weaning the nation off foreign oil.

But there would be an environmental footprint from the proposed Medicine Bow coal-to-liquids processing facility in Carbon County.

The plant, as proposed, would emit 195 tons of "particulate matter," or dust, each year, according to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Factor in the amount of dust from the associated coal mining operation nearby, and the project could consume an estimated 85 percent of the allowable incremental increase for particulate matter the size of 10 microns per cubic meter, according to the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

Breaching air pollutant standards under the Clean Air Act can trigger a "non-attainment" status for a region, which can shut down all new development until the air is cleared. Carbon County is also targeted for dozens of wind energy projects, which could potentially add to dust emissions because of related road networks.

"For us, the implication is that the state is moving right up toward the limit for PM-10. So how much more development is going to be permissible in this area?" said Bruce Pendery of the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC, a subsidiary of DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC, plans to build a coal-to-liquids processing facility with an output capacity of 18,000 to 20,000 barrels per day. The Wyoming Outdoor Council, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club recently submitted written comments to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality regarding a permit application for the plant's emissions.

DEQ's Air Quality Division has reviewed the company's application for pollutant emissions and has indicated to DKRW that the proposal meets all of the state's air quality standards, according to DKRW founding partner Robert C. Kelly.

"If there's an issue on these things they (DEQ) will review it," Kelly said.

The environmental groups don't dispute that the proposed emissions are within state and federal air quality guidelines. Pendery explained that the concern is that by increasing PM-10 emissions in the region it only adds to a cumulative degradation of overall air quality in the state. Already, there have been many exceedences of the PM-10 standard in the coal-producing region of the Powder River Basin. Ozone levels from oil and gas activity is an increasing concern in the Pinedale area.

"People are not accepting of current gasoline prices, and that is a huge political force nobody can ignore," Pendery said. "But at same time, there are many other terribly important things that factor into our lives. We can't solve one problem without addressing all the other problems."

DEQ officials said DKRW has indicated to them that they still intend to capture CO2 from the coal gasification process, and possibly market the CO2 for sequestration. But Kelly declined to elaborate on emissions from the plant or the potential implications.

Chad Schlichtemeier, of DEQ's Air Quality Division, said the agency received a large volume of public comments regarding the air quality permit for DKRW's plant. He said the agency must review all the comments and address concerns when it decides whether or not to approve the application.

No time table has been set for the decision.

Sinclair Oil Corp. recently entered a long-term contract to market "ultra-low-sulfur" diesel fuel derived from the coal-to-liquids plant. The Medicine Bow facility will use General Electric Co.'s coal gasification technology to produce a synthetic gas from which nearly all the sulfur and CO2 can be removed, according to DKRW. The "syngas" is then liquefied using the Fischer-Tropsch technology, which DKRW has licensed from Rentech, Inc.

Arch Coal Inc., which acquired 25 percent equity interest in DKRW Advance Fuels in 2006, is in the process of starting up a coal mine near the proposed site to supply the plant.

Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at [phone] or [e-mail].