The citizen-led initiative - pulled from the ballot by a 6th District judge, then reinstated by the Utah Supreme Court - would amend the county's conditional use ordinance to require coal-fired power plants to go to a public vote.

Residents received the Sevier Power Company mailer Thursday. On one side, a message from the Richfield Area Chamber of Commerce cautioned that a yes-vote could hinder economic development in the county and have far-reaching, unintended consequences.

The other side contained a letter from Brigham Young University Technology Transfer Director Mike Alder to Sevier Power Chairman Ken Flake, encouraging joint participation in a U.S. Department of Energy program to pursue clean coal technology.

It turns out that Sevier Power reprinted Alder's letter without his knowledge or permission. University spokesperson Carri Jenkins said Friday that Sevier Power had misused it.

"Mike Alder's letter was not intended to be used in any way to convince people to vote for or against Proposition 1," Jenkins said.

While a majority of the Chamber's 20 board members signed on to the ad, "not everyone agreed with it," said Lorraine Gregerson, its executive director.

"Our organization is a member of the Chamber," said James Kennon, president of Sevier Citizens for Clean Air and Water.

Kennon, a renewable energy advocate who launched his opposition to the coal-fired facility in 2001, said no one sought his input for the ad.

"They're speaking for a small number of people who stand to gain financially," Kennon said.

In a press release, Right To Vote Chairwoman Elaine Bonavita called the Chamber's message a desperate attempt to discredit the initiative's true meaning.

Bonavita gets it wrong, countered Malcolm Nash, the county's economic development director and a Chamber board member.

"Her press release is a complete distortion of what's going on down here," Nash said.

cmckitrick@sltrib.com