UPDATE 2-Kansas lawmakers pass bill favoring coal expansion

(Updates with coal plant official comment, Gov. Sebelius comment)

By Carey Gillam

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Feb 19 (Reuters) - Backed by powerful business interests, Kansas lawmakers on Tuesday overturned a landmark 2007 decision that rejected a coal-fired power plant expansion in the state due to global warming concerns, though the vote fell shy of a veto-proof majority.

Lawmakers in the Kansas House voted Tuesday 77-45 for a bill that would allow two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas. The measure strips authority from Kansas Secretary of Health and Environment Rod Bremby, who last year rejected the $3.5 billion expansion because of health risks associated with carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.

The moves in the legislature give fresh life to plans by Sunflower Electric Power Corp to add two 700-megawatt units at an existing facility in western Kansas. Business groups and a Republican-led contingent of state legislators have championed the project, saying it would create jobs, provide badly needed energy for the area and would keep electricity rates in check.

When he rejected the project, Bremby said it would be "irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health."

The action pushed Kansas to the forefront of a national debate over the environmental effects of coal-based plants and alternative energy sources.

On Tuesday, Bremby spokesman Joe Blubaugh said the department was monitoring the situation and had no comment.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, has pledged to veto the legislation and the vote in the Kansas House fell short of the 84 votes, or two-thirds majority, needed to override a veto. An earlier Kansas Senate vote did meet that majority.