Topeka ? The state environmental agency on Tuesday said that it continues to review a permit application for an 895-megawatt coal-burning electrical generating plant in southwest Kansas, and that public hearings on the proposal will probably be in August.

The application by Sunflower Electric Power Corp. was submitted in January to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. KDHE said it will probably conclude the application review by July and then start a public comment period, with hearings expected to take place in August.

Current informational hearings being conducted by Sunflower Electric are not part of the state permitting process, KDHE noted. Those Sunflower “open house” meetings were held Monday and Tuesday in Holcomb and Great Bend.