Wolverine request at county planning commission approved
by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor
With nearly half of the bleachers in the gym filled with supporters wearing T-shirts proclaiming their feelings, the Presque Isle County Planning Commission approved Wolverine Power?s request to use biomass in its power plant. The proposed plant will use coal as its main fuel source, but Wolverine officials wanted the option to use biomass for up to 20 percent of the plant?s needs. After tabling the matter at its last meeting in March, commissioners unanimously approved the measure at Thursday?s meeting. Wolverine had obtained its original permit in July 2006.
In a presentation to the board, Ken Bradstreet, director of community and government affairs for Wolverine, defined biomass as ?living or recently dead biological material that can be used for fuel or for industrial production. Most commonly, it refers to plant matter used as bio-fuel,? Bradstreet said. ?Biomass has some great environmental advantages and it has some great potential for local economic advantages as well,? Bradstreet said. ?There are a number of definitions of biomass. Some of them are very broad, and some of those definitions have given rise to speculation, even rumors, as to what our intentions are as to burning at the site,? he said.
TO CLARIFY the Wolverine definition, he read his definition of biomass to the board. He said it included non-chemically treated wood and wood residue, bark or any wood derivative in any form, including, but not limited to sawdust, scraps, woodchips, millings, shavings, process pellets made from wood, switch grass or similar fuel. It doesn?t include tires, household or medical wastes, dead animals, or animal wastes, Bradstreet told the commissioners. ?What we are proposing is including essentially forestry and agricultural products,? he said.
In September 2007 Wolverine submitted a detailed description of the project in its air quality permit application to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which included the size of the plant, the proposed technology to be used, proposed emission levels in the plant, and a proposal to use up to 20 percent biomass in the energy-creating process. ?The permit application does not require us to use any biomass, but it allows us to use up to 20 percent. We think 20 percent is a pretty high number, and if we were ever to achieve that, it would take quite a bit of planning to get to that number,? Bradstreet said. He said that numbers short of that are very probable. Wolverine contracted scientists from Michigan Technological University (MTU) to study the local resources available and to project future possibilities. Following Bradstreet?s comments, he introduced Dr. Robert Froese to share what has been learned about using biomass in the Wolverine project.
AFTER WOLVERINE?S presentation, the public comment period began. Due to the size of the expected crowd, commission chairman Mike Libby moved the meeting to the Rogers City High School gymnasium, a wise move considering that nearly half of the bleachers were filled for the two-hour meeting. Libby insisted that order be kept in the meeting, telling the audience to not interrupt speakers, that speakers limit their comments to the subject, and speakers keep to less than two minutes. Most speakers followed those instructions, while Libby had to remind several of the rules of order in place for the meeting. ?I ask that there will be no personal attacks and that anybody speaking direct their comments to the board here,? Libby said. The commission heard input from 29 members of the audience, 24 in favor and four voicing their disapproval of Wolverine?s request.
THE FIRST presenter, Bob Noffze, said there was ?significant and compelling local and regional support for the development, establishment and ultimate operation of the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture.? He said his group collected more than 2,400 signatures of support on the project.
?Who in their right mind could argue that reducing power plant emissions by over 80 percent is wrong,? he stated. He was followed by supporting comments from Kathy Talaske. ?Now the Rogers City area finally has hope for a vibrant future, with the Wolverine Power Company?s proposal,? she said. Others who spoke in favor of the Wolverine project were Janet Vogelheim, Milt Very, Tab Coseo, Phil Budnick, Mike Miclette, Kevin Corpe, Paul Dubbs, Sue Leow, Jim Fleis, Jeff Lamb, Dean Storms, Mike Eustice, Jim Przybyla, Candace Kowalski, Michael Centala, Betty Zimmer, Boyd Haut, Joe Kuznicki, Jesse Chappa, Mark Slown and Bob Santimo. Charles Winter, representing the group Citizens for Environmental Inquiry, also supported the motion.
?We as Citizens for Environmental Inquiry actually approve this particular request regarding the proposed biomass definition. If this definition where to include rubber, tires, or other types of pollutants, we would not agree with this definition,? he said.
After the public input period, planning commission member Byron DeLong made the motion to approve Wolverine?s request, with the definition of biomass as described at the meeting. The vote passed unanimously.
AFTER THE MEETING, Bradstreet said the planning commission approved what they asked for, and that pleased him. ?That will give us the incentive to continue our studies and learn more and more about the potential of biomass from the area. We think there is a very good potential for it,? Bradstreet said. ?We used a number that we think is fully reasonable?it could go beyond that?but we are trying to be very cautious. We think we have got something here that is very exciting and we don?t want to oversell it or raise people?s expectations beyond what is reasonable.? Bradstreet said the overwhelming support shown at the meeting made an impact at the meeting. ?They did an excellent job of essentially making a declaration of showing where the communities? heart is,? Bradstreet said.
DELONG, WHO made the motion at the board?s March meeting to table the matter until the May meeting, made the motion to approve Wolverine?s request. He did so, he said, to give the planning commission time
?I was concerned about switch grass, because it is highly flammable, but (Wolverine) talked about educating everybody. As they presented it, they are not looking at taking a cornfield. They are looking at planting this in areas where it is not being cultivated today. So, based on that presentation, it would appear to me that we are not going to be in a situation where the switch grass is going to be eliminating the cereal crops, which is already resulting in a significant increase (in the cost of) wheat,? Delong said after the meeting.
Wolverine?s air quality permit request is still in the hands of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.