Coal power plant: Sanford 'No', Edwards 'Yes'

Gov. Mark Sanford announced today his opposition to a proposed $2.2 billion coal-fired plant in Florence County.

His stand came a few hours after former Gov. Jim Edwards urged the board of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to quickly approve the plant.

Sanford said one of the key reasons for his decision was Washington’s tighter regulations on coal-fired power plants -- regulations that easily could drive up the plant’s construction costs.

Sanford also cited operating costs, pollution and a slowing demand for power because of the state’s slumping economy.

"Everyone involved agrees that building this coal-fired plant is a short-term solution to bridge the gap between now and a time more nuclear capacity comes online," Sanford said in a statement.

His remarks came after months of refusing to take a position " and a day before a key hearing of the DHEC board, which will consider whether to uphold an air emissions permit allowing utility giant Santee Cooper to build the plant.

Earlier, Edwards said, "This facility is vital to South Carolina creating jobs." Edwards, 81, was S.C.'s first Republican governor in a hundred years during the 1970s. In the 1980s he was U.S. energy secretary under President Reagan.

Edwards said there's no scientific evidence to support widely accepted theories of manmade climate change. Opponents of the plant charge that its 10 million tons of carbon dioxide -- a heat-trapping gas -- is a major reason to oppose construction.

Edwards said he is speaking on behalf of a still-forming coalition called South Carolina Action for Jobs. It is a non-partisan advocacy group with two aims: to promote business development and to counter activist environmentalist groups.

He said he would not comment on any position Sanford might take since it is not his "practice to second-guess sitting governors."

Appealing with Edwards were S.C. Rep. Terry Alexander, D-Florence, and former Marion County Magistrate Levone Graves. Both favor the plant.

Santee Cooper and some of the state’s most influential business groups say the coal plant must be built to maintain adequate power and attract more industry to the job-starved Pee Dee in eastern South Carolina. The 1,320-megawatt plant will produce about 100 permanent jobs as well as about 1,400 positions during construction.

But environmentalist groups argue large amounts of toxic pollution from the plant are a danger to South Carolina’s air, rivers, wildlife and people. The head of the state Department of Natural Resources also has denounced the plant.

DHEC’s staff has determined it will not pose a serious threat.

In opposing the plant during today’s news conference, Sanford came out strongly in favor of nuclear energy as a key solution for South Carolina’s power needs.

— Sammy Fretwell, sfretwell@thestate.com, and John Monk, jmonk@thestate.com