Contact:
| Cesia Kearns, Coal Campaign Organizer | Office: 612-659-9124 x310 |
| Mobile: 612-310-2649 | |
| Email: |
Over 100 Citizens Rally to Pull the Plug on Big Stone II
Public Utilities Commission to Vote on Dirty Coal Power
St.Paul — Today several citizens from the metro area and Western Minnesota rallied outside the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to call for clean energy alternatives to the proposed Big Stone II coal-fired power plant as the Commission prepares to vote on the project. Citizens displayed a giant "footprint petition" to express public support for the Administrative Law Judges' recommendation against Big Stone II. This petition, several yards long, showed the names and footprints of thousands of Minnesotans asking for global warming solutions.
"The Administrative Law Judge's recommendation on Big Stone II clearly indicates that this plant is not needed." said Cesia Kearns, Organizer with the Sierra Club. "There is no reason why Minnesotans should have to pay for more pollution in their communities when the supposed energy needs for Big Stone II can be met with clean, efficient alternatives" she added.
Citizens who gathered outside the Public Utilities Commission expressed several concerns about what is at stake if the Big Stone II project is allowed to go forward, such as global warming, community health, and economic security. Coal-fired power plants are one of the largest single sources of global warming pollution, and are becoming increasingly expensive to build, putting consumers at risk in a carbon constrained world. Big Stone II, if allowed to go forward, would negate much of Minnesota's efforts to reduce global warming pollution through renewable and efficiency standards for energy. The existing Big Stone unit is the second dirtiest plant in the country for smog according to the EPA, pollution that would increase and last many years into the future with the expansion of Big Stone II.
Despite a series of clean energy policies in recent years such as Minnesota's Mercury Emissions Reduction Act, a Renewable Electricity Standard, and aggressive goals for addressing global warming, Governor Pawlenty has yet to take a firm position on Big Stone II — a project that threatens such progress.
"Taking a stand on Big Stone II could be a watershed moment for Governor Pawlenty in his stated commitment to deliver global warming solutions to Minnesotans." said Christopher Childs, Conservation Chair for the Sierra Club North Star Chapter. "We hope today's message from community members about pulling the plug on dirty power and investing in clean alternatives will be heard by decision-makers across Minnesota, including the Governor."
Citizens supporting the Administrative Law Judges' recommendation against the Certificate of Need for Big Stone II anticipate the approaching PUC vote on this matter June 5th.