The Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plant in Rogers City, MI Part 6
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
The Citizens for Environmental Inquiry, in their never ending quest to kill the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture, filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in Ingham County Circuit Court, five months after the group demanded the DEQ regulate CO2 as a pollutant. The DEQ didn’t respond to their demand within 90 days, so CEI filed the suit because, “my clients can no longer delay measures to assess and control the millions of tons of global warming pollution that can be released,” said retired Judge Swallow, CEI’s legal counsel. Seven people in Rogers City must be heard. The Advance reported that, “In filing this lawsuit, CEI is very much aware that Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation and Presque Isle County has the highest in Michigan.”
In late March, 2008, Wolverine asked the County Planning Commission to amend it’s original special use permit to include the burning of biomass.
Up until now, there had been two groups interested in killing the power plant. The seven people of CEI, all locals who believed Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, and a man from Traverse City who gets his money from San Fransisco, Tom Karas (Michigan Energy Alternatives.) However, the Planning Commission meeting attracted more outsiders.
Clean Water Action – a national group founded in the 70’s as part of Ralph Nader’s “task force” on water pollution
Michigan Environmental Council – a Lansing based group that is a member of a coalition of environmental groups nationwide.
Michigan Land Use Institute – A Traverse City based group that works closely with Tom Karas of Michigan Energy Alternatives
Sierra Club Michigan Chapter – a huge, national, extremely well funded organization of anti-coal activists
All of these groups are now organized and intent on killing the Rogers City venture.
In the middle of June, the economic impact study partially paid for by the Presque Isle Economic Development Corporation was released. It showed, in part, “annual property tax revenue within Presque Isle County of $12.5 million, with more than $3 million allocated to local units of government, and more than 230 new jobs for the four-county region which includes Presque Isle, Alpena, Montmorency, and Cheboygan Counties.” It further told of the revenue in taxes that would benefit Rogers City Schools, the Ambulance Authority, the Fire Board, and so on. It is safe to say that the revenue received by these and other governmental entities would double and in some cases, triple. The study did not assess the impact of the addition of biofuel to the plant’s consumption as it is an emerging development in the economy. Incidentally, even if that 230 jobs is double what may happen, it is still more jobs promised to Presque Isle County by Jennifer Granholm and the Federal Stimulus “shovel ready” package.
A group of people, upset that the environmental groups seem to be having the only say about the plant, formed and began meeting once per week. They felt it was important to stand up and show support for Wolverine. They called themselves, The Wolverine Clean Energy Venture Support Group, and their first major function was to stand up in support during the May 15th planning commission meeting. The meeting was to be in a public hearing style format on Wolverine’s request to amend their special use permit to include biomass. The group planned to wear t-shirts in support of the venture and speak at the hearing. Their mission statement read, “To organize and demonstrate that there is significant and compelling regional support for the development, establishment and ultimate operation of the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture Power Plant in Presque Isle County, Michigan.” The group also put petitions in every business imaginable in the county asking to sign in support of the power plant. By the end of April, they had 2,000 signatures.
To be continued….
