Coal-to-fertilizer plant approved

Officials in an eastern Idaho county have approved a special use permit for a $1 billion coal-gasification plant to be built west of American Falls.

The Power County Planning and Zoning Commission last week unanimously approved the first phase of the plant proposed by Southeast Idaho Energy that will convert coal to fertilizer.

John Burk, a spokesman for the company, said construction could begin next summer if permission is obtained from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and other agencies.

Burk said the plant could be running by 2012. He said the company eventually wants to build a second phase, costing an additional $1 billion, that will convert coal into diesel fuel and gasoline. The entire facility is called the Power County Advanced Energy Center.

LEWISTON

Court says dogs can be livestock

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a decision by a federal judge in Idaho who ruled that dogs can’t be defined as livestock.

The court ruled earlier this week that U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge erred in granting summary judgment to the U.S. Forest Service in a dispute it had with the owners of a dog kennel built next to the Clearwater River in northern Idaho, and ordered the case remanded back to federal court in Idaho.

The property on which the kennel was built is subject to an easement under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The easement allows “livestock farming,” but the U.S. Forest Service argued dogs aren’t livestock, and Lodge agreed.

But the appeals court ruled there was too much ambiguity in the wording of the easement of what can be considered livestock. The court even acknowledged it was unsure if dogs are livestock.

BOZEMAN, Mont.

Anthrax outbreak prompts warning

The state veterinarian is urging ranchers with cattle near Ted Turner’s Flying D Ranch to vaccinate their herds against anthrax after 257 of Turner’s bison died of exposure to naturally occurring bacteria.

Veterinarian Marty Zaluski said horses are at a lower risk than cattle, but neighbors of Turner’s 113,000-acre Bozeman-area ranch might want to vaccinate them, too. He said the vaccine, a weakened version of anthrax bacteria, is effective and lasts for about six months.

Untreated animals may die within 24 to 48 hours of exposure.

Flying D Ranch manager Russ Miller warned those who may hunt in the area later this fall to watch for signs of anthrax in dead animals.

Carcasses of animals that died of anthrax are highly contagious and the disease can be transmitted to humans.

PORTLAND

Mint promotes coin in targeted cities

The Sacagawea dollar coin was a dud. So how about Millard Fillmore? Maybe a Calvin Coolidge?

The U.S. Mint’s two tries to introduce a dollar coin in recent years tanked. But they’re trying again, this time with coins honoring the presidents, and Portland is one of four cities picked for a promotional campaign.

Now the U.S. Mint is betting on America’s greening conscience to make a new effort succeed.

“With the $1 Presidential Coin, every man, woman and child will make a personal statement about the money they spend,” says GolinHarris, the Chicago PR firm hired to market the idea.

“The coin is 100 percent recyclable and lasts for decades, offering consumers – and Mother Earth – tangible benefits that are especially relevant today.”

Mint strategy is to promote the coin in the four cities by focusing on “coin intensive transactions,” such as vending machines, public transport, fast food outlets and giant retailers.

The other three cities for the promotion are Charlotte, N.C., Austin, Texas, and Grand Rapids, Mich.