The Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plant in Rogers City, MI Part 3
By March of 2007, Wolverine continued it’s initial work on developing a wind farm, part of it’s commitment during the study of the possibility of building a power plant near Rogers City, along with an endangered species study, as well as numerous analyses to abide by state and local regulations. They committed to installing a meteorological tower at the Rogers City airport to gather wind speed and directional data.
A member of the Citizens for Environmental Inquiry (CEI), Bill Lewis, continued to raise questions on the opinion page of the Advance, this time raising the geological significance of where the plant would be located. This is the first time the word “karst” entered the fray. His argument, that careless surface activity on karst land can quickly impact water resources, was weak. The company had just hired a slew of environmental engineers, harbor engineers, and conceptual power plant designers. Three companies whose 2500 employees know more about the different problems related to geological issues. As an aside, all of the arguments posed by CEI included the words, “probably,” “likely,” and “possible,” while trying to convince the public.
On June 7th, 2007, this story appeared in the Advance.
The Citizens for Environmental Inquiry finally came out into the open. They identified themselves as local “folks” motivated by the thought that we are ruining the planet for future generations. They used the film An Inconvenient Truth as a tool to convince the city council about the effect of global warming and distributed copies of the movie. Retired Judge Joseph Swallow spoke, acknowledging “up front that the film is emotional and has political overtones, but… it serves as a legitimate wake-up call. The film clearly identifies the burning of carbon fuel by humans – be it through coal or oil – as a major culprit of releasing greenhouse gases.” Swallow added, “I suspect we will see regulations of carbon emissions in the near future. I encourage you to look at the film…and listen to what it has to say: Global warming is indeed an reality.”
In the same issue of the Advance, a story appeared titled, “Wolverine to partner in wind-energy venture.” By clicking on that title, you can also see a conceptual image of the proposed plant. The company committed to planning a wind turbine farm on Calcite property in an area called Adam’s point. They erected a test tower to measure wind speeds and “signed a long-term agreement with Harvest Wind Farm, LLC, to purchase renewable energy from the company’s wind farm, which is planned for construction near Elkton and Pigeon, in the thumb area of Michigan.” Also noted by the Advance, “The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) called for the need for one or two new base load generating plants in a recent study. The MPSC said that demand for electricity grows each year, yet no new base load plants have been constructed in Michigan in 20 years. The state is a net importer of energy, dependent on other states.”
But the CEI continued it’s quest to kill the plant. With retired Justice Swallow as their lawyer, they demanded that the Michigan DEQ comply with state law requirements to regulate CO2. Quoting the Advance, “The Citizens for Environmental Inquiry said, ‘a coal-fired power plant proposed by Wolverine Power Supply will spew unregulated amounts of global warming pollution into the atmosphere unless state regulators adhere to the law.’” Swallow continued,”‘Because the law is so clear that regulation of CO2 is required, we have asked the DEQ to enact regulations before they allow construction of any new coal plants….(we hope) we’re not witnessing a coal rush, where vested interest playing on poor economic times are trying to build as many coal plants on the cheap as they can before regulations are established; if this is the case the impact on human health and welfare will be most unfortunate.’” The CEI sent a letter to the DEQ calling for action. “‘My clients are concerned. Despite the fact that the climate of our planet is warming at an unparalleled pace and a scientific consensus pointing to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (of which CO2 is primary) as the culprit. Michigan has not promulgated rules regulating this obvious pollutant……I represent Citizens for Environmental Inquiry, a Michigan Non-Profit corporation, and also the following citizens of Presque Isle County: Byron DeLong, Thomas Harkleroad, William Lewis, John Plath, Jean Veselenak, and Charles Winters.’”
By September, Charles Winters began his stint of writing to the editor of the Advance stating his idea that our electricity bills will severely increase because of the money being sunk into the feasibility of the plant.
In the September 27th, 2007 issue of the Advance, Wolverine announced it’s plans to file an air quality permit request with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
It was at about this time that I became interested in this drama. I had read the paper all this time, getting to know who is saying what and how the plant was progressing. But, it wasn’t until, while attending a monthly township meeting, that I found out that CEI was going around to all the townships of Presque Isle county and distributing copied versions of An Inconvenient Truth and telling the board members that they are just a small group interested in asking questions. They did not share information stating that they have a lawyer and are fighting against the proposed plant. In October 2007, Jean Veselenak, member of CEI had scheduled a global warming speech she was to give before the county Michigan Townships Association (MTA) meeting in Millersburg. This attendees of this meeting would be representatives of each township in Presque Isle County. When I heard about that, I called the chairperson and asked to speak as well.
To be continued……
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