Aquila loses another round

Even by the standards of Missouri wheelin' and dealin' and shady bidnesss schemes that don't pass the smell-test, the construction of the South Harper Power Plant was beyond brazen.

By "beyond brazen" I mean that Aquila put a gas-fueled power plant in a residential neighborhood, and didn't even get zoning permission first. Even as court actions were filed and the public outcry grew in pitch and fervor, they kept on building. The plant even went on line.

Every judge that they have argued their case before has told them that they have to dismantle it. They keep appealing and now offer the "evidence" that it would cost the company money to dismantle the $140 million power plant. Boo frickin' hoo.

By the logic Aquila is using, I can drive 90 in a 55 and tell the officer that I can't afford the ticket, and be off the hook, right? At least I can expect a judge to see it that way, can't I?

The latest slap-down came yesterday, when a Missouri Circuit Court judge ruled that the Missouri Public Service Commission overstepped it's authority when it issued the permits for Aquila to build on a site that did not have the appropriate zoning variance.

This decision could ultimately lead to the deconstruction of the power plant. Aquila will appeal, and the MPSC will undoubtedly allow them to recoup their losses with a rate increase. they shouldn't, but they will, because the Blunt administration is a wholly owned subsidiary of energy interests, to the point where the boy guv's brother is an energy lobbyist.

However, being a wee bit stubborn, it does not stop me from looking forward to the day that the trucks start rolling out of Peculiar with pieces of powerplant in the dump beds.