The Idaho Board of Environmental Quality has voted unanimously against having the state take part in a federal program that could encourage companies to build coal-fired power plants in the state.
Board members voted Thursday to send a temporary opt-out policy proposal to Governor Jim Risch.
By signing the proposal, Risch would include Idaho as one... 
Gov. Brian Schweitzer says he supports the Highwood Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant proposed for east of Great Falls.
“I’m supporting the Highwood project,” Schweitzer told the Great Falls Tribune’s editorial board Friday. “It’ll be one of the cleanest coal plants in the country.”
The plant does... 
Thirty-three of 35 state senators have signed a petition urging Gov. Jim Risch to opt out of a federal pollution trading program that, if adopted, could clear the way for coal-fired power plants to be built in Idaho.
Twenty-six Republicans and seven Senate Democrats want to buy more time for state agencies — the departments of Environmental Quality,... 