County denies water for power plant

County denies water for power plant

	Published : Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:20 By : Agencies Print this Story

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - Frederick County commissioners refused Monday to sell treated wastewater to Sempra Energy Corp. to cool a proposed power plant, leaving the Potomac River as the project's potential source for millions of gallons of water daily.

The decision complicates Sempra's 3 1/2-year effort to build the 600-megawatt, natural-gas-fired plant, which the company says would increase reliability of the region's electricity supply.

'We have articulated many times in the past that it's been our preference to use reclaimed water,' Sempra spokesman Art Larson said. 'We hope the county would reconsider.'

If not, Sempra must build six miles of pipeline to bring Potomac River water to the plant near Adamstown and discharge wastewater back into the river. Sempra also must obtain a right of way from the National Park Service allowing the pipes to cross the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park to reach the river. Sempra already has begun the process of obtaining all necessary rights of way, Larson said.

The plant would use an average of 2.4 million gallons a day -- and up to 4 million gallons on peak days -- to cool the plant's equipment.

As much as 90 percent of the water would evaporate during the cooling process, said Michael G. Marschner, director of Frederick County's utilities and solid waste management division, resulting in less water being directly returned to the river than was withdrawn.

The four commissioners voted unanimously against Sempra's request to use treated county wastewater, fearing that the plant's water consumption would reduce the county's chances of obtaining regulatory approval for future Potomac River withdrawals.

'I don't want to compromise our ability to obtain new water supplies,' board President Jan H. Gardner said.

Sempra obtained state Public Service Commission approval for the plant in April 2005 after negotiating with regulators and downstream utilities to minimize the plant's impact on the Potomac River's flow during severe droughts. The company has agreements with two upstream quarries in West Virginia to release water to augment the river's flow during those periods, Larson said.

Sempra has no projected construction timetable for the plant. The project depends on the company finding customers for the electricity, Larson said.

The Frederick County commissioners also took steps Monday toward implementing a personal property tax on non-utility operating machinery and equipment such as the Sempra plant. Gardner said the lack of such a tax had made the county attractive to power-plant builders. The commissioners have opposed such projects for aesthetic reasons and air-pollution concerns.

Larson said Sempra would have to review the impact of any additional taxes on the project.