MINGO — The concept that some groups call a myth, clean coal technology, came one step closer to becoming reality this week when the permitting process for a coal-to-liquid plant in Mingo County moved forward.

TransGas Development Systems has submitted applications to build the Mingo Hybrid Energy Center. That permitting process has entered the public comment phase of the permitting process.

West Virginia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Department of Air Quality (DAQ) will receive comments until Nov. 30. Joe Kessler, an engineer with DAQ, said the agency has determined the plant as proposed would meet all state and federal air quality standards.

The $3 billion facility would be located near Gilbert, generate 3,000 jobs during construction, and employ 250 people once it is completed.

The Mingo County Redevelopment Authority (MCRA) has been working to bring the project to the county. Randall Harris, Project Director for the Authority, said that while several environmental concerns are significant, air quality has been the biggest hurdle to the project.

“There are multiple permits to obtain,” Harris said. “But the air quality is the big one.

Considerable engineering effort has been expended by TransGas Development and the result is a facility that falls into the minor source category. This proves that clean coal can be done.”

TransGas Development Director Aaron Daley said he hopes to have all the permits in place by the first quarter of 2010 with construction beginning in the third quarter. Construction will take 36 to 42 months, he says.

The facility, as proposed, would gasify approximately 346 tons of coal per hour to produce 750 barrels, or 31,500 gallons, of gasoline. TransGas estimates the facility will use up to 3 million tons of locally mined coal a year to produce more than 6.5 million barrels of gasoline.

If the project is approved, it would be one of the first commercial-sized coal-to-gas facilities in the United States. The country’s need for energy is increasing, and it is hoped this technology will be part of the solution to that need.

“We are vulnerable because of imported oil, and to break the cycle we need to be less dependent on foreign oil,” West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin said. “West Virginia has the natural resources. Liquefaction of coal is a way to transform our coal into a synthetic gas, and we are very supportive of these types of industries.”

MCRA Executive Director Mike Whitt said the plant could be a major part of Mingo County’s economic future.

“We are focused on creating good paying jobs from our natural resources and the TransGas project is an excellent example of how coal can be used cleanly,” Whitt said.

Randall Harris, project director for MCRA, said the opportunity for economic development would mean Southern West Virginia could move forward during a difficult period for the coal industry.

“After over a century of Appalachia shipping its natural resources to out of state factories where the value and the jobs are created, we finally have the opportunity to not only harvest our natural resources but to keep the jobs here, diversifying our economy and making a significant step toward a sustainable economy in the hills,” Harris said.