The physician and former medical director at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George told 330 people attending a rally at Grace Episcopal Church to let politicians know how they feel about the coal-fired plant proposed for construction just outside Mesquite, Nev., 32 miles away.

"I'm angry to see people die as a result of these plants," said Booth.

The proposed $1.3 billion, 750-megawatt coal-fired Toquop power plant uses the latest technology and fills what builder Slithe Global Power says is an insatiable appetite for electricity in the Southwest, including Las Vegas.

"Under the [Toquop] proposal," Booth said, "Nevada and Arizona get the power, Slithe gets the money and we get the pollution."

Those attending the event, sponsored by the activist group Citizens for Dixie's Future, were encouraged to fill out valentines, hand-crafted by students at a private school, to be sent to Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons.

They also were encouraged to attend a public hearing on the proposed plant Thursday night at the Mesquite Town Hall at 6 p.m., PST (7 p.m. MST).

Toquop spokesman Frank Maisano said from his office in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday that what the coal plant opponents lack in facts they gain in creativity.

"A valentine campaign doesn't reflect the challenge," he said. "The [Toquop] plant is not like other, older plants and is much cleaner than ones in Utah."

Utah, he added, gets 85 percent of its electricity from coal-fired plants.

Maisano said the air-cooled plant will use 85 percent less water than previous designs, and emissions of sulphur-dioxide and mercury would be more than 90 percent less than from older plants.

"This isn't your grandfather's power plant," said Maisano.

He also pointed out that lesser emissions also mean a reduction in haze pollution from the plant.

"That's not me saying that, it's what analyses shows," he said.

He would have had a hard time convincing the crowd at Tuesday's rally.

Former Utah Gov. Olene Walker, who lives full-time now in St. George, is concerned about pollution from the plant.

"I'm as determined as anyone to make sure we don't have the inversions and pollution of northern Utah," said Walker. "I don't want that to happen in St. George."

mhavnes@sltrib.com