Oct. 5--The Environmental Protection Division is holding a public meeting Tuesday in Sandersville to answer questions about permits for a new coal-fired power plant north of Sandersville.

Power4Georgians, a coalition of six electric cooperatives, applied for environmental permits to build Plant Washington last year. In August, the EPD issued draft permits setting parameters for how the plant operates and how much water and air pollution it can legally produce.

The project aligns with Washington County's strategy to replace disappearing jobs from the kaolin industry, but it has attracted opposition from some local residents and environmental groups across the state.

The Georgians for Smart Energy coalition has arranged for additional meetings to be held in cities across the state, including Macon, where court reporters will record people's comments to provide the EPD. Midge Sweet, director of the coalition, said more than 1,000 Georgians have written the EPD requesting that meetings be held in cities besides Sandersville, with no response.

The Macon meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Joshua Cup coffee house.

Either Plant Washington or the proposed Plant Longleaf in Early County are likely to be the first coal-fired power plant built in Georgia in decades.

The Longleaf plant had been the subject of a lawsuit by environmental groups that sought to block its permits. An appeals court upheld most aspects of the permitting process, and the Georgia Supreme Court just voted not to hear the case.

At issue are the types of technology power plants are forced to consider and whether their carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming, should be limited. Georgia courts have ruled otherwise, but the EPA has issued new guidance and announced new policy in the past week that might affect those issues. The EPA said power plant proposals should consider cleaner gasification technology, and the agency has also announced it will move ahead of Congress to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.

Justine Thompson, executive director of Greenlaw, an Atlanta legal firm that had sued to stop Plant Longleaf, said her group is filing a motion to reconsider, given some of the new EPA policy guidance. The outcome could affect plans for Plant Washington, too.

Dean Alford, whose company Allied Energy Services is developing the power plant, said he believes most local residents support the project. Power4Georgians has hosted two public meetings and two career fairs, spoken to about 35 community groups, and made more than 50 visits to the homes of concerned residents, Alford said.