THE UNIVERSITY has gone ahead with construction of its Medical Area power project over many objections, assuming that it would routinely obtain the necessary approvals from various government agencies. But the University's headstrong rush to build may now cost it heavily, at a time when rising fees are of concern to all students.

After the University had invested more than $40 million in constructing about one-third of the planned facility, the state Department of Environmental Quality Engineering on January 31 determined that the planned electrical generators would raise area levels of nitrogen dioxide air pollutant dangerously high. The agency refused to allow inclusion of the generators, which project officials have termed crucial to the plant's economic viability.

If the state decision holds, it would not be just lack of foresight for which the University would pay; it would also be lack of sensitivity to the health concerns of the community that would be affected by its $110 million boondoggle.