A clean (air) defeat

The Kansas City Star: A public agency and a private utility again have failed to protect the health of Kansas residents when it comes to building a large coal-fired power plant.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment recently bowed to pressure from Sunflower Electric, endorsing the utility’s request that it only meet older and weaker pollution rules when it builds a new facility in western Kansas.

That irresponsible decision comes from the state department charged with protecting the health of Kansans who live downwind of the plant. But it’s sadly par for the course. Led by Robert Moser, it has looked like little more than puppets of Sunflower in recent months.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency must be prepared to step in and eventually ensure that the utility adhere to strict, new anti-pollution rules that took effect in early January.

Modern technology

Sunflower’s plant — whose added electricity reportedly won’t be needed to meet even out-of-state customer demands for another decade — presumably will operate long into this century. Given the delays in construction, the utility has plenty of time to agree on its own to use the most modern technology.

Unfortunately, the utility and its partners have strongly resisted endorsing cleaner air upgrades. It’s even more disturbing for Kansans that their own Health and Environment Department has gone along with this charade, despite its clear duty to be a tougher watchdog.