A state court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the Taxpayers Association of Kane County that challenged the approval of a proposed experimental hydro-gasification plant in Kanab. Still pending is an appeal to the Kanab City appeals officer on a conditional use permit granted by the Planning Commission on the height of the plant’s two smokestacks. The maximum height is 67 feet, plus additional footage for a flare enclosure.
The proposed plant will experiment with a process for turning coal, bio fuels and other materials — from vegetation to tires — into methane gas that could be used to generate electricity when burned. California-based Viresco Energy has applied to build the plant on a leased tract of School and Institutional Trust Lands in Kanab. The proposal says the plant would burn just a small amount of coal during its tests. Salt Lake Tribune
