The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has submitted an air permit application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for the possible replacement of the Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant near Horseshoe Bay.

The application is on the LCRA website (www.lcra.org/fergusonstudy) and is available for public viewing at the following locations:

• County of Llano Main Library, 102 East Haynie Street, Llano, Texas
• City of Horseshoe Bay City Office, No. 1 Community Drive, Horseshoe Bay, Texas
• TCEQ locations
  • Austin Regional Office, 2800 S. IH 35, Ste. 100, Austin, Texas
  • Central Office, 12100 Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas

LCRA began evaluating the possible replacement of the 36-year-old natural gas-fired plant in April 2010, and the LCRA Board is scheduled to decide in April 2011 whether to proceed. A request for contractor proposals went out in October, and information from the proposals, which are due in February, also will be used in the evaluation. If LCRA moves forward with the project, an air permit will be required before construction begins. The permit application does not commit LCRA to proceed with the replacement project. LCRA can discontinue the permitting process if the Board decides not to proceed.

Proposed emissions limits for a new plant would be more restrictive than the permit limits for the existing plant. A newer, more efficient power plant would decrease emission rates by about 30 percent for every unit of power produced. Additionally, total emissions of nitrogen oxide, which contributes to ground level ozone, would decrease significantly using newer control technology.

Current emissions at the Ferguson plant are well below permitted levels. Emissions at a new plant would depend on the type of equipment used and how frequently the plant operates. Because a more efficient replacement plant would operate more frequently, the volume of some emissions could increase. However, emissions from a new plant would still be lower than the Ferguson plant would release if it operated as frequently as a new plant would.

TCEQ will invite public input on the application until Dec. 31.