Proposed plant generates debate.

Byline: Joe Harwood The Register-Guard

The proposed power plant near Coburg has generated emotion-laden opposition, but on Tuesday, when Gary Marcus and Tom Lininger argued the pros and cons of the project, they kept the debate to gentlemanly disagreement.

Marcus, an attorney and energy developer seeking permission to build the controversial 900-megawatt West Cascade Energy LLC plant, asserted it would accommodate Lane County's energy needs for decades. The facility is proposed for 100 acres of farmland north of Coburg.

Lininger, a former federal prosecutor and Lane County commissioner, maintained that the air pollution the natural-gas-fired plant would generate outweighs any benefits. Lininger, now a law school professor at the University of Oregon, has been the most outspoken opponent of the generation plant.

Despite their disagreement, the two displayed good manners before a meeting of the Downtown Rotary Club at the Hilton Eugene. It's the first time the two have debated in public.

Marcus is seeking approval from the state Office of Energy, which is compiling information on his proposal and has not deemed his application complete. Once it's complete, the state would hold public hearings, probably in mid-2005.

Although development of the plant probably lies far in the future, many local residents are already raising objections. Marcus has spent months responding to them.

Marcus on Tuesday disputed contentions that the facility's emissions would harm asthma sufferers. He also disputed arguments that the power plant's pollution would further clog Lane County's airshed, making it more difficult for industrial companies that generate air pollution to win environmental approvals to set up shop here.

"Opponents of the plant don't mention that our addition (to the area's total air pollution) is 0.4 percent," Marcus said, adding that emissions from cars and wood stoves account for most air pollution in Lane County.

Marcus said the pollution emitted by the plant, mostly fine particles and nitrogen oxide, would not push the area's airshed beyond state and federal air quality thresholds.

Lininger questioned the need for such a large generating facility, noting that the pollution increases in proportion to generating capacity. He noted that the plant would be the second-largest emitter of particulate matter in the county, behind Weyerhaeuser Co.'s Springfield containerboard plant.

The plant would employ about 30 workers once complete, and Lininger asked the audience to compare that with the hundreds of local jobs generated by Weyerhaeuser, and to weigh the costs and benefits.

Marcus said the plant would be built and expanded only as the area's energy demand increases.

Lininger conceded that plant would likely not sell power to California because of transmission line limitations, but he noted it is possible the power could be sold to Portland and to cities in Washington.

"Why should Lane County be a power farm for other communities?" Lininger asked.

"It would better for every community to bear the brunt of its power consumption," he said. "That way, if you run your air conditioner too long, it's your air that's hazy, not Lane County's."

Marcus claimed local utilities would buy the bulk of power generated at the Coburg plant, but Lininger countered that none has stepped forward publicly to support the facility.