Diesel Ban May Sway Opponents Of Power Plant

October 6, 2001|By Jeremy Milarsky Staff Writer

DEERFIELD BEACH — A deal in the works between top officials at City Hall and a Houston-based power company may remove a critical sticking point for people who oppose plans for a 510-megawatt energy plant here. 

Deerfield Beach Mayor Al Capellini said representatives of Enron Corp. last month asked to make minor changes to their financial agreement with the city.  In exchange, Capellini wants the company to abandon plans to use diesel fuel as a backup power source for their proposed power plant on Green Road just east of Florida's Turnpike. 

That's an important condition for government officials in Coral Springs and other North Broward cities, who fear that diesel fuel emissions would pollute the air in the region.  Enron's plans call for the plant to be fueled primarily by natural gas, which is relatively clean, but they want to be able to use diesel fuel in case the gas runs out. 

"If they want to open up their [financial] agreement, they would have to remove the diesel fuel part of their plant," Capellini said. 

The financial agreement calls for Enron to pay the city $1.5 million in fees before they build the plant, and at least $1.7 million in property taxes annually.  Enron last week paid the first $500,000 of the fees, but they have asked for a different payment schedule, Capellini said. 

Enron officials want to be able to burn diesel fuel as a backup power source because currently, only one natural gas pipeline operates in Florida.  But two other pipelines -- one coming across the Gulf of Mexico and the other coming from the Bahamas -- are in the works. 

Enron might be willing to drop their plans for diesel fuel, but only if "one or both" of those pipelines works by the time they build their plant, said Eric Thode, a company spokesman. 

"Functionally, the plant is an ambulance service," Thode said. " It has to be able to be used at a moment's notice." 

If Capellini were to convince Enron Corp. to drop the diesel fuel portion of their plans, it would represent a political victory for him and his city.  That's because the mayor of Coral Springs, one of the cities that has challenged the state's intention to give Enron an air-quality permit, has said that he will back off if they drop their plans to burn diesel fuel. 

So far, Coral Springs has declined to take as aggressive a stance as neighboring Coconut Creek, where government attorneys sued Deerfield Beach on July 13.  Coconut Creek attorneys argue that a conflict in zoning laws made it illegal for Deerfield Beach city officials to approve the Enron plant the way they did. 

Broward Circuit Judge Leonard Stafford dismissed the lawsuit last month because he said Coconut Creek had not followed proper procedure, but allowed the city to change the suit and file again.  Last week, they did just that, said Mitch Bernstein, an attorney for Coconut Creek. 

"The claims are essentially the same, but they are more thoroughly supported by the events that took place in Deerfield Beach when they considered Enron's application," Bernstein said. 

Capellini said Tuesday evening there were numerous parts of Coconut Creek's lawsuit that are inaccurate. 

Jeremy Milarsky can be reached at jmilarsky@sun-sentinel.com or call 954-572-2020.