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Do You Want Lights Tonight? Clean Coal Power Makes A Difference. Suit opposes E. Kentucky Power plant in Clark County -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mar 4 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Scott Sloan The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky. A trio of environmental groups sued the federal government Monday in a quest to halt construction of an East Kentucky Power Cooperative plant that the groups say is unneccessary and harmful to the environment. The groups have sued the federal Rural Utilities Service, a source of low-cost financing to electric co-ops, claiming it failed to properly conduct an environmental assessment of East Kentucky Power's plans to build a new coal-fired plant and transmission lines at its J.K. Smith power station in Clark County. East Kentucky provides power to 500,000 homes and businesses throughout Kentucky. The groups -- the Sierra Club, Kentucky Environmental Foundation and Center for Biological Diversity -- said the environmental studies on the two projects should be done together instead of separately. The transmission line study already has been completed. Their separation, the groups say, violates the National Environmental Policy Act's requirement that related proposals be analyzed as a group. Together, the assessments would make it clear, the groups say, that the project is not good for Kentucky. East Kentucky Power spokesman Nick Comer said the co-op had not yet received a copy of the suit. The co-op successfully fought off similar challenges of its plans during Public Service Commission hearings over the past year, saying that, although it's dedicated to the energy efficiency that the groups advocate, its customers require new power plants. The environmental groups, though, have noted that the co-op has yet to receive approval for necessary air-quality permits and hopes to persuade regulators to say no, said Elizabeth Crowe, director of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. Last month, the environmental groups issued a report saying East Kentucky could meet its growing power needs by using a combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. "Kentucky has for decades been wed to coal and with no real benefits," Crowe said. ------