Number: 1981-24
WHEREAS, the proposed Solvent Refined Coal-II (SRC-II) plant to be built at Morgantown, West Virginia, and the Solvent Refined Coal-I (SRC-I) plant to be built at Newman, Kentucky, have the potential to adversely affect fish, wildlife, air and water quality, and public health, safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Energy’s environmental impact statements on those projects do not adequately consider the potential impacts of the projects, as detailed in the comments on those statements prepared by the National Wildlife Federation, and various state and federal government agencies; and
WHEREAS, scientific evidence indicates that the liquid fuels produced by the direct liquefaction process to be employed at the SRC plants may be more likely to cause cancer than those produced from other synthetic fuel technologies; and
WHEREAS, there have been a number of serious spills at the experimental SRC pilot plant in Fort Lewis, Washington, that threatened to contaminate a Salmon spawning area and a secondary drinking water aquifer; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Energy did not include fish or wildlife populations or habitats (beyond endangered species) among the environmental parameters used to compare alternative sites for the two plants; and
WHEREAS, the SRC-I plant will result in the destruction of prime agricultural lands and the SRC-II plant will result in the destruction of valuable spawning and feeding habitat for some fish species; and
WHEREAS, Congress has created a U.S. Synthetic Fuel Corporation and authorized the expenditure of up to $20 billion to subsidize the construction of synthetic fuel plants; and
WHEREAS, these two synthetic fuel plants will be among the first constructed in the United States and thereby will set the precedent for the many synthetic fuel plants to follow;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 26-29, 1981, in Norfolk, Virginia, urges that no final decision regarding the design or construction of the SRC plants should be made until (1) the Department of Energy (DOE) has considered the need for, the impacts of, and the reasonable alternatives to the two plants; (2) adequate final environmental impact statements on the projects have been completed; (3) DOE has consulted with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and relevant state wildlife agencies regarding measures to mitigate fish and wildlife impacts; and (4) the public health concerns regarding the plants have been resolved.