The state’s top environmental regulator is considering whether to clear the way again for a new coal-fired power plant in southwest Kansas.

But environmentalists contend Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration is taking short cuts to ensure that the $2.8 billion project is built.

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. needs a pollution-control permit from the state Department of Health and Environment for its proposed 895-megawatt plant outside Holcomb in Finney County. The Hays-based utility already has another coal-fired plant.

It obtained a permit in December 2010, but eight months ago, the Kansas Supreme Court ordered the department to revise it to impose tougher air-quality standards.

Secretary Robert Moser is reviewing a proposed amendment drafted by the department’s staff, and his approval would allow Sunflower to go forward with the project.