I Will Say it Again

The question I posed over a year ago is still not answered, what makes Gov Schweitzer and his sycophants ever believe the environmental groups are going to allow coal production of any kind in the state of Montana?<br />n<br />n<a href="http://www.nowherethoughts.net/sarpysam/archives/1167-Question-As-Yet-Unanswered.html" >Question As Yet Unanswered</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>Every time I read a story about <a href="http://governor.mt.gov/governor/govbio.asp">Gov. Brian Schweitzer</a> talking about making fuel from coal, like this newest one, in Eastern Montana I ask the question, " what makes Schweitzer or anyone else think the Northern Plains Resource Council (<acronym title="Northern Plains Resource Council">NPRC</acronym>) and other environmental groups allow this to happen?"<br />n<br />nI would love to see some of the coal resources in my area exploited more but any time you talk about it the <acronym title="Northern Plains Resource Council">NPRC</acronym> does everything in its power to shoot it down. Just look at the <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com/newdex.php?display=rednews/2005/07/31/build/state/50-supco-plant.inc">battle over the power plant in Roundup</a> if you wonder if the environmental groups would be capable of stopping such a thing.</blockquote><br />n<br />nWhat made me think of this is the newest announcment out yesterday.<br />n<br />n<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/10/02/news/state/25-plant.txt" >Governor announces coal-to-liquid fuel plant</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote><a href="http://governor.mt.gov/governor/govbio.asp">Gov. Brian Schweitzer</a> on Monday announced Montana will have one of the nation's first coal-to-liquid fuel facilities, a $1.3 billion project several companies have agreed to build in the state's midsection.<br />n<br />nDKRW Advanced Fuels, Arch Minerals and Bull Mountain Coal plan to develop the project at the Bull Mountain mine 14 miles south of Roundup, in central Montana, Schweitzer said. The governor said that although he announced the project, the state is not a partner in it nor did the developers request tax breaks or other incentives.</blockquote><br />n<br />nSo fine, we have an agreement to develop the coal into more products in the mountains north of Billings. Does anybody remember what happened to the last power plant proposal in the Roundup area? The Environmentalists shut it down.<br />n<br />n<a href="http://www.earthjustice.org/news/press/006/federal-government-withdraws-coal-plant-permit.html" title="null">Federal Government Withdraws Coal Plant Permit</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>In a victory for clear skies in Big Sky country, the federal government has withdrawn its approval of a major new coal-fired power plant in central Montana. The plant, located about 160 miles northeast of Yellowstone Park, would threaten visibility in the park as well as several other pristine wilderness areas.</blockquote><br />n<br />nSo what makes this one different than the previous power plant and why won't the environmentalists shut this one down? I don't see any reason they won't try to shut down this project like the last one. Can anyone explain to me how a power plant 160 miles downstream and downwind, the large majority of the time, is going to cause pollution and visibility problems in Yellowstone National Park? I'm sure not smart enough to figure it out. I was always taught and experience has shown me that pollution moves down country and with the prevailing winds which would take any pollution away from Yellowstone national Park, not towards it.<br />n<br />nI would love to see more of the coal resources of Montana exploited in a responsible manner, but the hard core environmentalists will never allow this to happen and anybody that thinks differently is in for an interesting fight.