Judge’s Ruling Puts SW Kansas Power Plant on Hold

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A federal judge in Washington has put a

proposed coal-fired power plant in southwest Kansas on hold until

an environmental impact study has been completed.

U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan ruled Tuesday that the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service violated

federal law by failing to perform such a study before giving

Sunflower Electric Corp. permission to expand in Holcomb.

RUS must sign off on decisions related to the Sunflower project

because it provided past financial support and oversaw corporate

reorganizations.

Sullivan’s ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club forbids

the agency from issuing additional approvals for the plant or

taking any other major federal actions until the environmental

study is complete.

Sunflower officials say it’s too early to know how the ruling

will impact the project.