Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality will move forward with a court-ordered environmental review of the controversial gas-fired power plant in Laurel, now that a new law banning regulation of carbon dioxide is on the books.
A state permitting agency, DEQ announced Thursday that it had limited its environmental review of the Laurel gas plant to light pollution and was now taking public comment.
Less than two months ago, DEQ had been ordered to study the environmental impacts of the power plant’s carbon dioxide emissions, as well as light pollution, two things state District Judge Michael Moses said the agency “failed to take a hard look” at.
The 175-megawatt power plant is being built by NorthWestern Energy. Moses ordered construction stopped until DEQ did its analysis.
Republicans in Montana’s Legislature sprang into action by suspending the deadline for creating new bills and passing two laws banning consideration of greenhouse gas emissions during environmental review.
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For its part, NorthWestern insisted the new law would have no bearing on the its Laurel power plant problems.
“NorthWestern Energy didn’t initiate either effort and if passed, neither will apply to the District Court judge’s order vacating the air quality permit for the Yellowstone County Generating Station,” said John Hines, the utility’s vice president of supply and government affairs in April 28 opinion.
DEQ was clear Thursday that it had was disregarding the carbon review Moses ordered specifically because of the new law.
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