Aug. 2, 2007: Feds Cite Air Quality Concerns with Gascoyne Plant Project

Official finds that emissions from the proposed coal plan in southwestern North Dakota could impair visibility at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Bismark Tribune
Feds Cite Air Quality Concerns with Gascoyne Plant Project
By Lauren Donovan
Aug. 2, 2007 http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2007/08/02/news/local/137149.txt

A deputy secretary for the Department of the Interior says emissions from the proposed coal-fired power plant at Gascoyne would impair visibility six days a year at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

David Verhey, deputy Interior secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said Westmoreland, the company proposing to build twin 250-megwatt units in Bowman County, should consider a different, cleaner kind of plant to construct within the pristine Class I airflow stream of a national park.

In comments to the North Dakota State Health Department last week, Verhey said visibility would be impacted up to 19 days over a three-year period, based on computer and weather models.