No more coal-fired plants?

Nov. 7, 2007

The recent spate of natural disasters is enough to drain your despair budget. A drought in Georgia, wildfires of record intensity out West, continued melting of the polar ice cap, and, here in northwest Michigan, record low levels of our Great Lakes. In each case, scientists say they suspect or
know that global warming is a factor.
Now comes along a tiny environ-mental group with a bold challenge for Michigan. The Citizens for Environmental Inquiry has petitioned the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to write regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions.
The group has also asked the DEQ not to issue any more permits for coal-fired power plants until regulations are written. The state, by law, has 90 days to respond to the petition, which was dated August 27.
The state of Michigan now has four permit applications for coal power
plants, and more on the way. Even if the number of plants far exceed the state’s power needs (estimated to grow by 1 percent per year), it can only deny or approve permits based on current environmental regulations, said DEQ spokesman Bob McCann.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that carbon dioxide is an air pollutant and must be regulated. The amount of carbon dioxide has dramatically increased since the mid 1800s when the industrial revolution took off—a period that represents a relative blink in the history of the Earth. In 1850, carbon dioxide measured around 280 parts per million. Now it’s at 380 parts per million, and accelerating faster than anyone predicted. The level of
450 ppms is widely considered the tipping point, when there will be no chance of reversing the effect and the climate will be changed forever (as will our way of life).

THE LAW SAYS: WE MUST PROTECT AIR
The Citizens for Environmental Inquiry was formed in January, when
the Wolverine Power Supply Coopera-tive of Cadillac proposed to build a coal-fired power generating plant in Presque Isle County.
The group’s executive director is activist Tom Karas of Traverse City, who brought the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to Traverse City last year. The other two players are Joseph Swallow, a retired circuit judge, who is providing his legal expertise for free, and Charles “Chuck” Winters of Presque Isle, the Citzens for Environmental Inquiry’s president. He’s an architect and a professional engineer, who previously designed power plants for utilities.
Swallow said that the Michigan Constitution requires that the legisla-
ture protect the air from pollution, impairment and destruction. Further, he maintains that the DEQ was mandated by the Michigan Environmental Protection Act to promulgate rules governing air quality and emissions. The Supreme Court’s ruling that defines carbon dioxide as a pollutant makes the DEQ’s responsibility to regulate absolutely unequivocal, he said.
DEQ spokesman Bob McCann said the DEQ is “keenly aware” of the issue and the Supreme Court ruling. But the agency is still trying to figure out how to approach regulating emissions. The DEQ has asked for, but not received, guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA was sued by the state of Massachusetts to force the agency to regulate carbon dioxide. Although the Supreme Court sided with Massachusetts, the EPA has yet to issue any rules. The DEQ cannot put a moratorium on power plants—that would have to come from the legislature, McCann said.
“By law, if we receive a completed application, we are required to make a decision on it within a certain time frame. We can’t respond to them and say, ‘We can’t.’ Carbon is not something like mercury pollution. We knew mercury was a toxin. Twenty years ago, who would have suggested carbon dioxide was a pollutant? But now science is telling us it’s harmful in large quantities and coal plants are the biggest contributor. We need to take a look at this issue, but it’s not a decision that can be made easily and quickly. It has to be made with the best available science. It’s far better to have a regional approach to carbon dioxide regulation” than a patchwork of regulations by several different states,” he said.
McCann acknowledged that decisions should be made soon—before the plans of the new coal-fired power plants are finalized and construction is started. The plants operate for 50 years, so decisions today will have a long-standing environmental impact, he said.
Joe Swallow said that Steve Chester, director of the DEQ, has not responded to his request for regulations. Nor has Governor Jennifer Granholm, who oversees the DEQ.

PASSING THE BUCK
Swallow said that both Chester and Granholm take their “marching orders” from the state Constitution and state statute.
“It would be nice if we had a uniform approach by all the states, but democracy is messy,” he says. The EPA hasn’t acted, and our state Constitution says this is of paramount concern, that we must regulate. You can’t ignore that, and they have been ignoring it. In due deference to our Democratic governor, our Republican president was also ignoring this until the United States Supreme Court said he couldn’t ignore it any longer. The EPA was ordered to make rules and regulations.”
“We do not need permission from the feds to regulate carbon dioxide. Granholm took an oath, Chester took an oath to abide by the state Constitution, and it says that to regulate is of paramount importance. Not just actual impairment to the environment, but potential impairment. If you don’t like the law, repeal it. If you don’t like the Constitution, replace it. Maybe it makes sense to wait for the feds, but Chester and Granholm don’t work for the feds. They work for us and the state. Our Constitution and our laws either mean something or they mean nothing. If our democracy is worth a dime, then our elected officials should follow the law. That’s an old judge talking, but that’s the way I feel.”
Economic problems should be considered secondary to the state Constitution, Swallow said.
“When you see these phony baloneys in state and federal government, you know that the coal lobbyists are blowing hot air on all of them,” he said. “If you owned a pile of coal in the Powder River valley out in Montana, your mountain of coal wouldn’t be worth diddley-squat. That’s where all this pressure is coming from. Lobbyists have all kinds of power they never had before, in part, because of term limits.”
Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Governor Granholm, did not return phone calls on the subject. Norm Saari, chief of staff for state Senator Jason Allen, said that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling applied to carbon dioxide that was emitted from a mobile source, such as cars. The ruling does not necessarily apply to carbon dioxide that is emitted from coal-fired power plants, although Saari acknowledged that carbon dioxide is the same element no matter where it comes from.
“He (Senator Allen) is not jumping to any scientific conclusions. It’s a legal and scientific matter, neither of which is in front of him as of now,” Saari said. He also said that Senator Allen believes it is up to the state DEQ to decide whether limits should be placed on power plant emissions.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY?
Meanwhile, the co-owner of a Manistee County power plant said
he’s exploring a new process for a
coal plant that reduces pollution and makes electrical production more efficient. He doesn’t know at this point whether the “integrated gasification combine cycle process” would reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
“We’re just looking at it right now. We’re making no other firm plans than
to understand what the technology can and cannot do,” said Joe Tondu, president of Tondu Corporation and
co-owner of the TES Filer City Station co-generation plant.
There is also discussion of carbon “sequestration” which would dispose of carbon dioxide deep into the ground. It’s hopeful, but it’s also expensive, complex, and potentially dangerous, Tom Karas said.
Alternative energy is a good idea, but windmills are fraught with “horrendous, logistical problems,” particularly in Michigan, which has only half the wind of the western states. Solar energy is viable on a small scale, but can’t replace the sheer mass of electricity produced by coal-fired power plants, Tondu said.
Karas countered that “the pace of technological breakthroughs in alternative energy” has been amazing over the last year. “We had a conference in Traverse City a few years ago that referred to our great state as the ‘Saudi Arabia of Wind.’” Karas wondered whether Tondu’s bottom line might be influencing his opinion of the potential of alternative energy.
Nuclear power is being seen more favorably, even by environmentalists.
“Nuclear power may very well have a place at the table in our future energy needs,” Karas said. “Obviously the waste disposal question has to be addressed before it becomes a viable option.”
The smart thing right now is for our political leadership to push conservation and efficiency measures, he added.
“It’s been estimated that 30 percent of our energy demand could go away if we had strong leadership for energy conservation—turn off the lights, switch to compact fluorescents, and buy Energy Star appliances. There’s new technology that wouldn’t change our quality of life, but is more efficient. That would buy us time, years of time, so that technology could potentially take care of that nuclear disposal question.”

For more information on the Citizens for Environmental Inquiry, visit their website at www.nemcei.org.