Dickerson, Maryland - Mirant Corporation, the international energy company which owns the electric generation station at Dickerson and is seeking permission from the State of Maryland to expand and construct new electric generation power plants there, has proposed no plans to protect its existing electric power generation facilities from exposure to terrorist attacks, it was revealed during hearings this week.

Mirant's proposed project would require a construction workforce of up to 650 people who would be brought onto the Dickerson site daily during construction, which would last for two years. The Dickerson site is surrounded by the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, the C&O Canal National Historic Park, and the Potomac River and is only a few miles from Sugarloaf Mountain.

Mirant's application for approval to construct the new facilities does not address the issue of the protection of the existing facilities in view of the introduction of a large construction workforce and construction infrastructure, and Mirant has not supplemented the application since September 11 to address the issue. William Bulpitt, project director for Mirant, acknowledged that he had not been to the station since September 11, 2001, and did not know if security had been beefed up since the terrorist attacks on the United States.

The Maryland Public Service Commission, the state agency which has the authority under state law to approve the project and issue Mirant a certificate of public convenience and necessity, to deny such a certificate, or to condition the issuance of such a certificate, held the first round of hearings on Mirant's application before a hearing examiner in Rockville this week. The hearing examiner, David Moore, who is an employee of the Public Service Commission, heard testimony from Mr. Bulpitt and five consultants from Florida hired by Mirant. Mirant is a spin-off from the Southern Company, the major electric utility company in the Southeastern United States. The Mirant witnesses were cross-examined by the attorney for the Sugarloaf Citizens Association ("Sugarloaf") and other parties.

The hearing examiner cut off detailed questioning on the security issues following an objection from Megan Sperling, the attorney for the staff of the Public Service Commission, apparently on the ground that concerns about public safety should not be part of the inquiry into an application by a power generation company to expand existing power generation facilities and build new ones on the site.

Jim Brown, President of the Sugarloaf Citizens Association said today: "The Sugarloaf Citizens Association is deeply concerned that Mirant not expose the Sugarloaf area to potential threats to the public health and safety by the introduction of a huge temporary workforce that has not been subject to careful and thorough background and character checks and screening, and whose persons, tools, equipment, and vehicles are not subject to comprehensive searches each time they enter the generating station site." Brown added, "I am stunned that the Public Service Commission would take the position that public safety should not be a factor in permitting a power plant expansion of this magnitude." Sugarloaf is a regional environmental organization dedicated to the preservation of the agricultural character and natural beauty of the Maryland piedmont area of Montgomery and southern Frederick Counties, including Sugarloaf Mountain and the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve.

"All it would take is one of the 650 new construction workers," continued Mr. Brown. "If there is anything our nation has learned, it is that we must be vigilant to protect our essential infrastructure from the threat of malevolent acts perpetrated by a tiny number of individuals who are part of a terrorist network. It has a 10 million gallon oil storage tank, and a large diameter natural gas pipeline bringing fuel to the plant. We cannot open up the gate and expose ourselves to such potential danger of destruction without taking every precaution to ensure that those who are entering the site are law-abiding citizens coming to work, not to cause harm. According to experts we have consulted, if this 10 million gallon tank were to explode, it would be the equivalent of 500 tons of TNT. If the Dickerson tank exploded, it would be the equivalent of 500 747s each fully-loaded with 20,000 gallons of fuel." said Mr. Brown.

Mirant has told the Public Service Commission that construction would last for two years, and has asked the Commission to grant a certificate so that it could begin construction during the summer of 2002.

The hearings that were held this week were the first of a series that are scheduled to conclude next spring. Testimony from witnesses for Sugarloaf, other citizens, and state agencies are scheduled for February, 2002.

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