Residential Zone Targeted for Coke Burning Plant February 2nd, 2009
It's impossible to think of Davis Country without thinking oil refineries, but another proposed carcinogen causing plant in a residential area has citizens furious.
by Keith Harten
Consolidated Energy Systems, a Salt Lake based company that specializes in converting derivatives of crude oil refining into energy, is attempting to build a plant for burning coke, a petroleum product that, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, pollutes more than most forms of coal and emits chemicals that the Cornell University Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research has identified as carcinogenic.
And this on land that West Bountiful Mayor James Behunin confirms to be zoned residential.
Consolidated Energy is trying to "Piggyback," as the mayor puts it, on a development agreement between West Bountiful City and the Holly oil refinery in June 2007 granting Holly permission to build a plant to convert some of its coke into additional energy. What has residents and officials upset, however, is that not only does Consolidated Energy's proposal not belong to Holly's operation, it would include shipping and disposing of coke from neighboring states.
Consolidated Energy raised eyebrows recently among city counsel members by applying for state approval to pollute before addressing the zoning barrier, eliciting suspicion of a possible attempt to steamroll resistance at the city level. Mayor Behunin believes Consolidated Energy is preparing to use legal force in support of its plan.
All of this comes at a time when people in Davis County are more sensitive than ever to the impact that proximity to refineries can have on residents. Just three weeks ago, a 42,000 gallon fuel tank at the Silver Eagle refinery in Woods Cross exploded a few hundred feet away from the nearest homes, forcing the evacuation of neighborhoods that creep closer to the refinery each year. This comes, too, at a time when people are conscious of environmental and health issues as they watch global temperatures rise and as Wasatch Front residents consider the adverse health effects of bad air following one of the worst inversions in memory.
Of course, not all of the news is bad. State Congressman Roger Barrus points out that the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has tightened emissions standards and is preparing to make them even more strict. "You may not believe this,"he says, "but the air is cleaner today than it was ten years ago," a fact that should be encouraging to many, especially considering the growth Utah has seen in recent years.
However, Davis County residents are concerned about more than emissions. Even if the proposed plant meets particle emission standards, it will release carcinogens into a populated and rapidly growing area, a fact that bothers some enough to make them consider moving elsewhere, such as Ann Richardson of Woods Cross, who wonders if the chronic respiratory problems that some of her family members experience are due to the refineries already in the area.
Residents voiced these concerns at a January 13th hearing that was full to overflowing with Bountiful, West Bountiful, Woods Cross, and Centerville residents. Barrus believes their worries are being heeded, saying "the DEQ is taking seriously [their] comments and will do some additional review." Although the DEQ has found the proposed plant to be in compliance with state emissions standards, it could still impose restrictions based on health concerns.
If the refinery obtains state approval, Consolidated Energy will move to gain the approval of West Bountiful City. This would mean rezoning the area, and Consolidated Energy will have to demonstrate that their proposal falls within the development agreement between West Bountiful and the Holly oil refinery. Mayor Behunin, however, says the city is preparing its own legal case and is hopeful the plant will not happen.
