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By stan_sipple

PSC will appeal Cass County ruling on Aquila plant Kansas City Business Journal "The Aquila Inc.'s $140 million Cass County power plant case may be headed to the Missouri Supreme Court. By a vote of 4-0 with one abstention, the Missouri Public Service Commission decided Tuesday to appeal the ruling from the Missouri Court of Appeals State ex rel. Cass County, Missouri, Respondent, Stopaquila.Org, Respondent v. Public Service Commission for the State of Missouri, Appellant, Aquila, Inc., Appellant. WD67739 and WD67740 Handdown Date: 03/04/2008 Appeal From: Circuit Court of Cass County.
The Court of Appeals held that the PSC had exceeded its authority by approving the plant after it was built. "The commission has exceeded its statutory authority by issuing the order. Permission to construct a power plant pursuant to section 393.170, RSMo must be granted prior to construction. To the extent that the order under review purports to authorize operation of the existing plant, it is a nullity, since Aquila has authority to exercise rights under its county franchise (including the operation of power plants) pursuant to its existing certificates."The vote to appeal the ruling came in a 45-minute executive session. "It's not so much that I'm defending Aquila," PSC Chairman Jeff Davis said Wednesday. "It's that I have to defend the authority of the commission and do what's right for the taxpayers of the state." Commissioner Robert Clayton, who along with former commissioner Steve Gaw voted against the PSC's original order on May 23, 2006, abstained on the issue. "I did not support the original order," Clayton said of his decision to abstain. "We are given a job to do, and we take the facts and law before us, and we render a decision. I disagree with what the majority decided to do." When asked why he didn't oppose the appeal outright, Clayton said there were larger issues. "A vote against appealing could be construed as a vote to limit our jurisdiction," he said. "I believe the commission should have broad jurisdiction." In appealing the decision, the PSC will ask either for a rehearing, in which a new set of judges from the panel of 11 will preside, or for a transfer of the case to the Missouri Supreme Court. Davis said he expects the PSC to file the motion early next week. On March 4, the three-judge appeals court panel unanimously ruled against the PSC in an opinion by Judge Ronald Hollinger. Kansas City-based Aquila (NYSE: ILA) and the PSC had argued that two sections of the statute governing the PSC allowed for approving the plant after its construction. The appeals court rejected both arguments. This is the second case the appeals court has heard regarding the plant. Its first decision, in 2005, affirmed a circuit court injunction requiring Aquila to dismantle the plant because the facilities violated Cass County zoning laws. In that case, 200 neighboring residents of the South Harper power plant near Peculiar created StopAquila.org to oppose the facility's construction. The group sued Peculiar to halt its building after a 4-2 vote by the city to issue bonds for financing. After that decision, Aquila turned to the PSC for construction approval."

Full post as published by Showmeblawgs on March 12, 2008 (boomark / email).