McArthur made his comments at a public hearing for the Toquop power plant proposed to be built northwest of Mesquite, Nev.

Company officials claim the plant would be the cleanest in the country, using technology that will scrub out the toxins from emissions.

But McArthur and most of those attending the meeting don't believe such claims.

McArthur's decision, he said, came after consulting with Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck, who also spoke against the 750-megawatt plant to the crowd of nearly 300 people crammed into an auditorium at Dixie State College.

Many had anti-Toquop T-shirts on or wore green derbies emblazoned with the message "Green Power."

Comments received at Wednesday's meeting will be sent to the Nevada Department of Environmental Quality to be included in the official public comment record.

Although Nevada is responsible for permitting the plant, it was decided to hold a hearing in St. George after Utah officials expressed the concerns many residents have about the plant.

The main issues raised at Wednesday's hearing had to do with the health effects from emissions Utah residents believe will drift over their communities and the degradation of air quality it would cause.

Greg Aldred, a candidate for Washington County Commission, invoked Benjamin Franklin in his comments to the crowd.

"Country before commerce," he said, then challenged members of the crowd to stand in front of the coal trucks that would fuel the plant if built. Stacy Christensen, from Springdale, urged residents to get involved politically to stop the plant.

"It's a dirty deal for southern Utah," she said. "Tell Utah officials to stand up for the right to breathe."

Jock Whitworth, superintendent of Zion National Park, told the crowd of how the air shed in the seventh-most visited national park in the country would be degraded by the plant. He said it would obscure vistas on the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin.

Charles Jackson, a lone voice in support of the plant, said he was concerned about higher energy bills without the plant.

"How many here are retirees willing to see their power bills triple or quadruple?" he asked.

The answer forced up the hands of most people in the audience, showing support for higher prices if it meant cleaner electricity.

Frank Maisano, a spokesman for Sithe Global, the company that wants to build the $1.3 billion plant, said the opposition at public hearings is expected.

He said haze from the plant would be next to nothing by the time it reached Utah, and that it's not fair to compare the plant with coal-fired plants built in the past. He said if the plant is built, Utah could benefit from the power and it would give an economic infusion to Lincoln County, Nev.

Tom Jones, vice president for development for Sithe Global, understands the passion people have in opposing the proposal, but also said they do not understand the science behind the new plant.

Jones, who attended Wednesday's hearing, said that he thinks the thoroughness of the environmental studies for the plant give him optimism for the plant's permit.

"The science data speaks for itself," he said.

mhavnes@sltrib.com