Utility lawyers question coal-gas plant timetable

Several attorneys have questioned a timetable for the approval of a coal-gasification plant in southwestern Indiana, saying it leaves too little time for public input.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has accepted a timetable for the $2.65 billion Indiana Gasification plant at Rockport that sets the final hearing on the matter for May 3 and for the panel to rule on the matter sometime after July 11.

The Indianapolis Star reported Friday that the timetable was largely put together part by Randolph Seger, an Indianapolis lawyer representing the Indiana Finance Authority. The finance authority has a 30-year deal to buy synthetic natural gas from the plant, which would be built about 25 miles east of Evansville.

Lawyers said they expect a final decision by Labor Day, which means the process could last about eight months from the time the original paperwork was filed with the IURC.

Jennifer Terry, an Indianapolis lawyer who represents factories that buy natural gas, said other cases that take lots of testimony and require careful attention to details in technical reports can last a year.

"There's going to be a lot of technical details for folks to digest," Terry said. "This is a unique project that has never been tried anyplace else, certainly not on this scale."

Under finance authority's deal with Indiana Gasification, a subsidiary of Leucadia National Corp. Indiana will spend an estimated $6.9 billion over 30 years to buy the plant's synthetic natural gas and then sell it to the market, where it will be delivered to consumers through existing utilities. If contract prices are lower than market prices, the savings will be split between the company and ratepayers. If contract prices are higher than market prices, ratepayers would be protected by $150 million set aside by the company to cover higher prices.

"It's a good thing for Indiana," Seger said. "We simply want all the benefits from this to be realized as quickly as possible."

The Star reported that during a preliminary hearing Thursday, Clayton Miller, who represents smaller gas utilities, and other attorneys sat quietly while Seger assembled the timetable in talks with other lawyers. IURC commissioners accepted the schedule with little comment.

"It's not clear to us why there's such a rush," Miller said. "The parties have proposed a rather expedited procedural schedule."

"The faster it moves, the less scrutiny it gets," said Jerry Polk, an Indianapolis lawyer representing consumer and environmental groups.

IURC spokeswoman Danielle McGrath defended the commission's actions, saying none of the lawyers objected to the timetable during the hearing. She said the timetable is tentative and can be adjusted by the agency at another preliminary hearing in coming weeks.