This Washington
Update: Gregoire and TransAlta
Last week, we reported that the talks between Gov. Chris Gregoire and TransAlta, which runs a coal-fired steam plant in Centralia, to rein in greenhouse gas emissions were going nowhere.
To the chagrin of environmental activists, Gov. Gregoire has been negotiating with TransAlta, the number one, single-source greenhouse gas polluter in the state, to get the company to lower its emissions—rather than letting the legislature impose mandates. (Adding insult to injury, Gregoire's negotiating route prompted Gregoire to kill a move by the legislature last session to end TransAlta’s $4 million tax loophole because she wanted to keep the break on the table as a playing card in the talks.)
The governor's office says the talks are still in play. However, Cliff Traisman, a green lobbyist in Olympia who met with the governor's staff about TransAlta last week, tells PubliCola: "I met with the governor's staff, and my prediction is the talks will not reach an agreement. The issues are too complex."
The complexity involves how quickly TransAlta can transition off coal. Environmentalists want the plant off coal by 2015 and the governor has been negotiating for 2025.
To the chagrin of environmental activists, Gov. Gregoire has been negotiating with TransAlta, the number one, single-source greenhouse gas polluter in the state, to get the company to lower its emissions—rather than letting the legislature impose mandates. (Adding insult to injury, Gregoire's negotiating route prompted Gregoire to kill a move by the legislature last session to end TransAlta’s $4 million tax loophole because she wanted to keep the break on the table as a playing card in the talks.)
The governor's office says the talks are still in play. However, Cliff Traisman, a green lobbyist in Olympia who met with the governor's staff about TransAlta last week, tells PubliCola: "I met with the governor's staff, and my prediction is the talks will not reach an agreement. The issues are too complex."
The complexity involves how quickly TransAlta can transition off coal. Environmentalists want the plant off coal by 2015 and the governor has been negotiating for 2025.
