Backing Our Businesses

Unusual circumstances require unusual actions. The Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has strongly supported the expansion of one of our major employers - Sunflower Electric Power Corporation. The Board continues to support the expansion, and applauds Sunflower's willingness to be innovative in their work with in bio-energy.

On Friday, November 16, 2007 the Chamber of Commerce joined the Finney County Board of Commissioners in a lawsuit to vacate the denial of air permits for the Holcomb Station expansion project in Finney County, Kansas.

The denial order disregarded the KDHE staff's recommendation to issue the permit after extensive and exhaustive examination by KDHE staff to ensure that public concerns for the public health were addressed and state and federal laws were followed.

The lawsuit against the Kansas Department of Health and Environment was filed in the Kansas Court of Appeals. In pleadings filed with the Court, Finney County and your Chamber argue that KDHE and the Secretary had no legal authority to apply K.S.A. § 65-3012 to the Holcomb Station expansion air permitting process. The Secretary applied the statute to prospective air emissions, while K.S.A. § 65-3012 applies only to current air emissions. The County and Chamber are asking the Court of Appeals to make a legal determination that K.S.A. § 65-3012 is not applicable to the air permitting process.

In separate filings, Sunflower Electric, the operator of Holcomb Station, and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a participant in the expansion project, also filed similar suits in both the Kansas Court of Appeals and Finney County District Court.