Attorneys general from across the country have signed a letter asking the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to stop the permitting process for the proposed Santee Cooper coal-fired power plant in Kingsburg.

The letter was sent to DHEC office’s during the public comment period for the 600-megawatt coal-fired generation facility, which would be located on a 2,709-acre tract in Kingsburg. It is scheduled to become operational sometime after 2012. Santee Cooper officials have said the energy produced by the plant is necessary to South Carolina to prevent a power shortage in the next five years.

The attorneys general are contending that carbon dioxide emissions from the South Carolina plant will jeopardize their states’ efforts to reduce these greenhouse gas emissions. It seems likely that the same argument could be made about the Wise County plant. Wonder if the attorneys general will seek to intervene here as well?