Wolverine to appeal MDNRE decision

by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor

Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative filed an appeal in Missaukee County 28th Circuit Court asking the court reverse the denial issued by the state in May. In documents filed before Judge William Fagerman, Wolverine is asking for ?reversal and remand of a final agency action? for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE) denial of Wolverine?s air quality permit. On May 21, the MDNRE issued its denial of the permit to install a 600-megawatt power plant in Rogers Township on grounds other than ?science and the law? as required, Wolverine argued. After nearly 1,000 days of consideration, Wolverine had the denial issued by the MDNRE.

?After careful consideration of the issues and pursuant to the delegation of authority from the director of the DNRE, I have denied permit to install No. 31-707,? said G. Vinson Hellwig in his letter of denial dated May 21. Wolverine had 90 days to appeal the ruling and chose to file the petition in Missaukee County, the home to Wolverine headquarters.

The court will consider the 10-page complaint, with 22 pages of supporting documentation. As of press time, no court date has been set. ?We have asked the court to do essentially two things. First to reverse the action, which denied a permit and remand that back to the MDNRE for reconsideration. The second thing we are asking is for the judge to declare the governor?s executive directive to be unlawful,? said Ken Bradstreet, director of community and government affairs for Wolverine.

That executive order, ED 2009-02, added more procedures to the permitting process and gave authority to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox opposed the executive order. Point number 15 of the 23-point appeal petition filed Tuesday says Cox determined that ?ED 2009-02 cannot and did not alter the applicable requirements or procedures? of Wolverine or other similar projects ?irrespective of the governor?s desired policy outcomes.? Wolverine contends that ED 2009-02 was applied to its application for the major permit ?even though the (Air Quality Division) had deemed it previously to have been administratively complete and all other procedural requirements had been met.? In other words, Wolverine claims Gov. Jennifer Graholm changed the rules after it filed its permit application.

If remanded back to the MDNRE, Wolverine would ask that the permit be considered not on needs or possible alternatives, but rather ?strict

ly from the prospective of the law prescribes for what a power plant has to perform from an air quality perspective,? Bradstreet said. Reasons for denial were not air quality reasons, Wolverine contends, and business and political considerations were used to deny the permit instead of science and the law as they claim is the MDNRE?s calling. Point number 21 in the petition may lead to some speculation as to why Consumers Energy secured its permit in December 2009 while Wolverine waited until May 2010 for a denial. It implies politics may have played a role in one plant becoming approved while another was denied.

It reads in part: ?the conditions attached to the preconstruction permit issued to Consumers Energy were in furtherance of a predetermined plan characterized as the ?Grand Bargain? within the Office of the Governor, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), and the DELEG (Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Development) to afford Consumers Energy the opportunity to construct a new coal-fired base load facility and to foreclose Wolverine a similar opportunity to own and control base load generation capacity by refusing to issue to it a preconstruction permit.? Bradstreet said the appeal reaffirms what Wolverine has been saying all along, that the company is interested in the Rogers Township site for the long haul. ?We?ve got an incredible world-class site for a generation plant. We believe it has an excellent potential for a power plant of some sort. We don?t want to let this go by the board. This is an opportunity that we have invested quite a few of our resources in,? Bradstreet said. Providing for reliable power for the member-owners is the main goal of the management, Bradstreet said, which is why Wolverine chose to pursue the project in the first place. That has not changed, he said. ?Looking longterm, this is an incredible place for a generation plant,? Bradstreet said.