June 22, 2010
By Jared Fields
Abilene Reporter-News
Pollution and future water supply concerns dominated discussions Tuesday evening at an anti-Tenaska gathering at the Abilene Public Library.
Jeff Haseltine said he is worried about more than the up to 2 million gallons of treated wastewater per day requested for the proposed $3.5 billion coal-fired energy plant near Sweetwater.
Haseltine, organizer of the "Abilenians Against Tenaska" group, said even if the proposed Cedar Ridge Reservoir is built to supply Abilene with water, he is concerned the water could be polluted from the power plant upstream.
"If Tenaska had looked for a place that was in the very center of the watershed for the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, this is where they would have chosen," he said. "One of the arguments we’re making is it doesn’t make any sense at all to help develop a source of pollution that we know will impact the proposed (Cedar Ridge) Reservoir for our future water."
Whitney Root, whose family lives near the proposed plant site, said she is concerned for possible pollution of her family’s land.
"A big concern for us is air pollution, of course," she said. "But there are other issues like noise pollution, light pollution and the degradation of property values."
Tenaska officials have said Abilene would receive an economic boost of about $145 million during construction of the proposed plant. However, Haseltine said that economic boost would not be worth the negative effect the plant could have on Abilene’s water supply.
"I think if we need the water, then let’s at least protect it, not plan to pollute it before we even build it," Haseltine said.
Mayor Norm Archibald has said the City Council will take up the issue of selling treated wastewater to Tenaska sometime next month. With a study, the city has determined that enough water exists to meet Tenaska’s, and Abilene’s, needs over the 50 years of the plant.
If the City Council votes not to sell water to Tenaska, the plant’s process could be slowed down, or stopped, Haseltine said.
"I only need four people in Abilene to be on my side," he said, referring to the number for a majority vote on the City Council.