From My Coal-Dead Kans.

Veto override fails in Kansas; embattled coal plants remain dead 5

Two new coal-fired power plants will not be built in western Kansas due to a failed attempt to override the governor's veto. The coal-plant saga began when a state environment official last year rejected Sunflower Energy's permit to build the new plants -- the first such rejection in the U.S. on the basis of carbon dioxide emissions. State legislators who had backed the plants responded by passing two different bills that would have allowed the coal plants to proceed and would have stripped state environment officials of the authority to deny such permits. But the state's governor, Kathleen Sebelius (D), vetoed the bills and the legislature failed to override her vetoes. The veto override vote in the Kansas House on Thursday evening was just four votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed. It's unlikely Kansas legislators will be able to pass any more pro-coal-plant bills this session as the legislature has already gone into overtime.

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  1. morganmghee Posted 10:19 am
    02 May 2008

    WOOHOO!That's all I can think of.. WOOHOO!!

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  2. Pathos Posted 5:43 pm
    02 May 2008

    I can think of something else...This victory may not be as solid as we'd like to believe.  The override vote passed in the Senate, and only failed by four votes in the House.  The vote went more along regional lines than party lines; overall, that seems like an optimistic omen, but it makes it much harder to guess what the next election will do.
    More tellingly, when is Sebelius up for re-election, and how safe is her job likely to be?  Anyone out there have any insight?

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  3. jcrane Posted 3:02 am
    04 May 2008

    kansas coal plantsDoes anyone know if this story has made any national media outlets?  It seems that such a precedent- "first government agency in the United States to reject a permit for construction of a coal-fired power plant based on its carbon dioxide emissions"- would be of  vital importance as other states and communities make similar decisions about their future power production.

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  4. Tasermons Partner Posted 4:17 am
    04 May 2008

    It's been mentioned in the media......but it wasn't really a top story to 'em.  There was widespread coverage in Kansas though.

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  5. yellow fringe Posted 12:17 am
    05 May 2008

    Sebelius and the veto votesIn fact the four vote margin in failure to overturn the veto is stronger than the previous one vote margin of a month earlier.  Today the Republican House and Senate are trying to insert the bill into another more popular bill to force it through.  This however appears to be against the states constitution.  Sunflower Electric is running out of time, facing 40% increase in steel prices, set a June/July decision date to drop the plan, or to continue to meddle in Kansas politics.  Only 15% of the power was for Kansas (but all the pollution), the balance is for nearby  states which have already restricted such plants.  As for the Democrat governor Sebelius, she is term limited now, she will be out of office following the 2010 election.  The uberconservative Senator Brownback, fresh from a failed Presidential bid wants the position.

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