Rogers City, Wolverine project promoted by mayor in Detroit radio station interview

by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor

Rogers City again got big time airplay on Detroit?s WJR-AM 760 Monday. Beach Hall, mayor of Rogers City, accepted a request from morning host Frank Beckmann, giving the popular Detroit radio personality his take on the recent developments with Wolverine. Wolverine?s application for a permit to install (PTI) is back in the hands of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) after a Missaukee County judge ruled late last month that the state denied the permit for the wrong reasons. The state had denied the request last May.

Although the mayor?s time on the air was short, less than seven minutes, the host and the mayor made the time count. ?The folks in Rogers City are happy that a judge likes them,? Beckmann started the segment on WJR. ?A Missaukee County judge has given them hope that they can build this huge power plant up there near Rogers City. This was an issue, Wolverine Power was involved in it, that was blocked by the Granholm administration and its DEQ.? Beckmann said the DEQ issued the denial of the permit after nearly 1,000 days not based on any environmental concerns and then asked the mayor what the ruling means for Rogers City.

?It is an important issue because you were the poster child for how the Granholm administration and its allied environmental groups were blocking progress here in Michigan. Not only your coal plant but others in the state, too,? Beckmann said. ?You are correct. I am convinced that the DEQ would have issued a permit to build in 2009 if it had not been for the Granholm administration saying ?no we don?t think it is needed.? When the (denial) was finally issued after close to 1,000 days of waiting, it simply said that we didn?t need a (power plant). Electricity was not needed. The denial didn?t contain one word about air quality or the environment or for that matter, the law,? Hall told the WJR host.

The judge sent the matter back to the DEQ, Hall told Beckmann, saying the DEQ had exceeded its authority, which encouraged supporters. Beckmann said the best news is that the Snyder administration is not going to appeal the ruling. ?The fact that they are not going to appeal is wonderful news. The fact that the DEQ has just approved the Holland permit, (see separate story) which was denied on similar grounds, is good news,? Hall said adding that the plant would use clean-coal technology. ?It is puzzling that environmentalists, even when they win and get the industry to change the standard, to cut real pollutants, not carbon dioxide, are not satisfied,? Beckmann said.

Hall told Beckmann if Wolverine moves ahead, but cautioned that is not a certainty, it would mean 1,500-2,000 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs at the power plant and related industry. Beckmann said that if there had been a different administration in charge at the time of the permit application, the talk would have been about potential jobs to be created, instead of the long wait. ?When the plant was first proposed in 2006, there was no guarantee that they would have power available to them after 2011. Since that time, the world has changed and (Wolverine) is now able to get some power from plants located outside of Michigan. The fact that they now have some long-term contracts, the crisis that was apt to occur at the end of 2011 has now been

postponed to somewhere into 2017 or 2018,? Hall said before Beckmann had to move on to the next guest.

?I hope it doesn?t take that long because I know what it means to your community. You are a shining example of what happens when the environmentalists are allowed to step in and stop development. They are job killers and this was a perfect example of that. Let?s hope it is not permanent for you,? Beckmann said. After the on-the-air interview, the mayor said he didn?t get a chance to talk as long as he wanted. He explained to the Advance some reasons why he views the recent news with cautious optimism.

?Although the need for additional capacity remains, especially after 2017, the situation is not as critical as it was in 2006. Wolverine?s long-term need for additional power remains, and financing and construction contracts still appear to be available,? Hall said ?I am hopeful that construction will move forward. The next few weeks and months are key to the project. My fingers are crossed that once permitted, the Wolverine board of directors will decide to move forward with the plant.?