by jboullion | Nov 9, 2011 | Uncategorized
A news release from the Sierra Club:
Madison, Wisconsin – Today, the Sierra Club issued a Notice of Intent to sue We Energies for the October 31 flood of coal ash into Lake Michigan when an old landfill located on the bluff collapsed at a construction site at the company’s Oak Creek coal plant.
“We Energies must be held responsible for the toxic mess at the bottom of Lake Michigan,” explained Jennifer Feyerherm of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “We Energies has essentially turned Lake Michigan, a national treasure that supplies drinking water to over 10 million people, into a coal ash dump. We Energies filled a ravine next to Lake Michigan with coal ash, and it is that ash that now lies at the bottom of the lake. This was a predicted and preventable disaster.”
A biologist from the Southeastern Wisconsin Planning Commission raised concerns about the structural stability of the bluff when We Energies was planning to develop the site. As construction proceeded, the bluff collapsed, covering the shoreline with an estimated 25,000 cubic yards of coal ash and soil and dumping 2,500 cubic yards of coal ash and soil into the lake.
The Notice of Intent to sue alleges that the pollutants in the coal ash at the bottom of Lake Michigan “pose an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment.”
Coal ash is the toxic byproduct of burning coal. Heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, chromium, and molybdenum remain in the ash after coal is burned. These toxic metals are linked to many health effects including cancer, birth defects, kidney damage, and nerve damage. In fact, studies have likened the risk of living near a coal ash site to smoking a pack of cigarettes each day. These toxic metals also put our fragile Great Lakes ecosystem at risk, threatening aquatic habitat and building up in the food chain.
“There are more than 2,000 toxic coal ash sites in the U.S. polluting our air and water, and now there is a new one on the bottom of Lake Michigan,” noted Melissa Warner, a volunteer leader with the Sierra Club that lives south of the coal ash dump. “My family’s drinking water comes from the lake. We Energies must clean up its mess and prevent any disaster like this from happening again.”
To date, there has been little information available to the local community about where the coal ash in the lake is going, what it will take to clean it up, and when the cleanup might be completed. Today’s Notice of Intent to sue is the first step in legal action against We Energies to force the company to clean up the toxic coal ash.
Ever since the TVA coal ash disaster in 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency has been trying to enact national protections to stop this kind of disastrous spill from happening.
“Communities here in Wisconsin and across the nation remain at risk and unprotected,” concluded Feyerherm. “The burning of coal is a public health menace. This spill is yet another illustration that as long as we are still mining and burning coal, our families and communities are paying the price.”
More posts on the spill and utilities.
by jboullion | Nov 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
Michael Vickerman’s letter-to-the-editor of the Racine Journal Times:
Dear Editor:
In his November 3rd letter opposing S.C. Johnson’s proposed wind development in Mt. Pleasant, Tom Joy rattles off a number of myths about wind turbines that populate the Internet. However, the facts on the ground paint a very different picture of wind generation than what Mr. Joy represents.
First, there is no medically credible study out there that concludes or suggests that wind generation is a threat to human health. According to Dr. Jevon McFadden, a public health professional serving on Wisconsin’s Wind Siting Council, “Evidence does not support the conclusion that wind turbines cause or are associated with adverse health outcomes.”
If the experience elsewhere in Wisconsin is any guide, the proposed wind turbines will have no discernible effect on neighboring property values. But don’t just take RENEW’s word for it. Ask any and all assessors in townships that host large wind turbines, and to a person they will confirm that finding. Moreover, in Kewaunee County, home to the oldest commercial wind projects in Wisconsin, new homes are going up within sight of the 31 turbines operating there.
S.C. Johnson’s proposed project has been carefully designed to meet the strict performance standards specified in Wisconsin’s wind siting rule. We have little doubt that this project, once placed in service, will very quickly become a source of pride for the surrounding community.
Sincerely,
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
RENEW Wisconsin
by jboullion | Nov 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
Michael Vickerman’s letter-to-the-editor of the Racine Journal Times:
Dear Editor:
In his November 3rd letter opposing S.C. Johnson’s proposed wind development in Mt. Pleasant, Tom Joy rattles off a number of myths about wind turbines that populate the Internet. However, the facts on the ground paint a very different picture of wind generation than what Mr. Joy represents.
First, there is no medically credible study out there that concludes or suggests that wind generation is a threat to human health. According to Dr. Jevon McFadden, a public health professional serving on Wisconsin’s Wind Siting Council, “Evidence does not support the conclusion that wind turbines cause or are associated with adverse health outcomes.”
If the experience elsewhere in Wisconsin is any guide, the proposed wind turbines will have no discernible effect on neighboring property values. But don’t just take RENEW’s word for it. Ask any and all assessors in townships that host large wind turbines, and to a person they will confirm that finding. Moreover, in Kewaunee County, home to the oldest commercial wind projects in Wisconsin, new homes are going up within sight of the 31 turbines operating there.
S.C. Johnson’s proposed project has been carefully designed to meet the strict performance standards specified in Wisconsin’s wind siting rule. We have little doubt that this project, once placed in service, will very quickly become a source of pride for the surrounding community.
Sincerely,
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
RENEW Wisconsin
by jboullion | Nov 3, 2011 | Uncategorized
A news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:
November 1, 2011
Contact:
Katie Nekola
Clean Wisconsin
608.212.8751(cell)
MILWAUKEE — Monday’s bluff collapse at We Energies’ Oak Creek coal plant sent a substantial amount of coal ash into Lake Michigan. Coal ash is a dangerous byproduct of burning coal to make electricity, yet has potentially toxic health effects if it enters our groundwater.
“We Energies said in an update on its website today that coal ash is ‘not a hazardous material,’” says Katie Nekola, attorney for Clean Wisconsin, “but that is far from true. The fact is, coal ash contains chemicals and compounds that are dangerous to human health. This disaster proves that we need better regulation of coal ash and that the public deserves the right to know what’s in their drinking water.”
Coal ash contains 24 known pollutants, some of which, according to the National Resource Council, are toxic even in minuscule quantities. Those toxins include: arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury, and dioxins, along with other chemicals and compounds.
These toxins can cause serious health problems including cancers, central nervous system damage, and blood and kidney disorders. Coal ash dump ponds and landfills are often unlined, and arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium can leach into local drinking water. One Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study found that residents living near unlined ash ponds run a risk of cancer from arsenic contamination that is 2,000 times greater than the EPA’s threshold for acceptable risk. At Oak Creek, the coal ash came from a decades-old, closed coal ash landfill. This spill comes at a time when Congress is considering limiting EPA’s authority to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste.
“This landslide poured toxic materials directly into Lake Michigan, which 10 million people rely on for drinking water,” said Nekola. “Area residents should insist that We Energies and state regulators ensure the safety of their water supplies as soon as possible.”
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by jboullion | Nov 2, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Jon Hilkevitch in the Chicago Tribune:
Solar energy collectors will be installed on up to 60 acres at O’Hare International Airport, and a service station selling alternative fuels for private and commercial vehicles will open near the airport, Chicago’s aviation chief announced Monday.
“The solar panels will provide a substantial renewable energy source to help power O’Hare, and the alternative fueling station will promote the use of clean fuels and electricity to power vehicles,” city Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino said at the 2011 Airports Going Green conference, which runs through Wednesday in downtown Chicago and at O’Hare.
At Midway airport, a composting program will be launched to handle food waste from its 13 restaurants, Andolino said.
private waste hauler will collect compostable materials at Midway, ranging from leftover food to cardboard boxes, and deliver them to an off-site composting facility, said Amy Malick, deputy commissioner of sustainability at the Chicago Department of Aviation.
The Midway project follows a pilot composting program at O’Hare. A total of 200 tons of compostable waste at both airports will be diverted from landfills each year, Malick said.
The service station selling alternative fuels will be located on a 2.25-acre parcel at Patton Drive and Higgins Road (near the intersection of Mannheim Road and Higgins) just outside the airport, Andolino said.
“The fueling station will be able to provide alternative fuels like bio-diesel, ethanol, electric charging as well as traditional fuel” to commercial vehicles and private passenger vehicles, Andolino said. Construction of the facility is expected to begin in about a year, she said.
by jboullion | Nov 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Meg Jones and Don Behm in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Oak Creek – A large section of bluff collapsed Monday next to the We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant, sending dirt, coal ash and mud cascading into the shoreline next to Lake Michigan and dumping a pickup truck, dredging equipment, soil and other debris into the lake.
There were no injuries, and the incident did not affect power output from the plant.
When the section of bluff collapsed and slid from a terraced area at the top of a hill down to the lake, Oak Creek Acting Fire Chief Tom Rosandich said, it left behind a debris field that stretched 120 yards long and 50 to 80 yards wide at the bottom.
Aerial images show a trailer and storage units holding construction equipment tumbled like Tonka toy trucks and were swept along with the falling bluff in a river of dirt that ended in the water.
“This is definitely a freak accident,” U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Brian Dykenssaid.
As a company hired by We Energies began cleanup in Lake Michigan, the utility confirmed that coal ash was part of the debris.
“Based on our land use records it is probable that some of the material that washed into the lake is coal ash,” We Energies spokesman Barry McNulty said. “We believe that was something that was used to fill the ravine area in that site during the 1950s. That’s a practice that was discontinued several decades ago.”
The Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of developing stricter regulations of coal ash following a 2008 Tennessee coal ash pond washout that created a devastating environmental disaster.
by jboullion | Oct 27, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Larry Sandler in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Milwaukee County will get $19.1 million in federal funds to pay for three new express bus routes, the state Department of Transportation and County Executive Chris Abele announced Thursday.
Those new routes will partly replace existing local service, as part of Abele’s plan to stave off deep cuts that had been recommended in other routes. Regional planners, state staffers and local advisory committees had backed the plan before it received final approval from state Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb.
Two routes will be funded by $12.7 million of the $15 million previously allocated to the now-defunct KRM Commuter Link rail plan. The remaining $2.3 million will go to Kenosha Transit for new buses.
One route will run from Bayshore Town Center to Mitchell International Airport, by way of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and downtown; the other will run from UWM to the Waukesha County line, mainly on Capitol Drive.
by jboullion | Oct 27, 2011 | Uncategorized
The USDA announced $1.8 million in a grant and loan for an electricity-generating manure digester at Heller Farms near Alma Center in Jackson County:
MERRILL, Wis., October 26, 2011 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is funding anaerobic digester projects in eight states to encourage renewable energy production, reduce energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and farm-based pollution. The announcement was made on the Secretary’s behalf by Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager during a trip to Wisconsin.
“Through the efforts of the Obama Administration, the Rural Energy for America Program has helped rural small businesses, farmers and ranchers across the nation,” Vilsack said. “Since its creation this program has assisted almost 9,600 small businesses, farmers and ranchers and created or saved an estimated 15,000 jobs. It also provides producers with new opportunities to diversify revenue and make American agriculture and rural small business more competitive.”
Funding for the biodigesters is provided through the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and has created or saved an estimated 13.4 billion kWh of electricity and reduced almost 14.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the biodigesters announced today will be constructed on Heller Farms near Alma Center in Jackson County, Wis. It is expected to produce 3.3 million kW hours of renewable energy each year, enough to power 400 average Wisconsin homes per year. Digesters will also be constructed in Pennsylvania, Idaho, Iowa, Florida, Oregon, Ohio, and Vermont.
Today’s announcement is in concert with an agreement signed by Secretary Vilsack in December, 2009. During climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Secretary signed a historic agreement to help U.S. dairy producers cut greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement between USDA and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy calls for the parties to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms by 25 percent by 2020.
by jboullion | Oct 27, 2011 | Uncategorized
The USDA announced $1.8 million in a grant and loan for an electricity-generating manure digester at Heller Farms near Alma Center in Jackson County:
MERRILL, Wis., October 26, 2011 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is funding anaerobic digester projects in eight states to encourage renewable energy production, reduce energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and farm-based pollution. The announcement was made on the Secretary’s behalf by Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager during a trip to Wisconsin.
“Through the efforts of the Obama Administration, the Rural Energy for America Program has helped rural small businesses, farmers and ranchers across the nation,” Vilsack said. “Since its creation this program has assisted almost 9,600 small businesses, farmers and ranchers and created or saved an estimated 15,000 jobs. It also provides producers with new opportunities to diversify revenue and make American agriculture and rural small business more competitive.”
Funding for the biodigesters is provided through the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and has created or saved an estimated 13.4 billion kWh of electricity and reduced almost 14.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the biodigesters announced today will be constructed on Heller Farms near Alma Center in Jackson County, Wis. It is expected to produce 3.3 million kW hours of renewable energy each year, enough to power 400 average Wisconsin homes per year. Digesters will also be constructed in Pennsylvania, Idaho, Iowa, Florida, Oregon, Ohio, and Vermont.
Today’s announcement is in concert with an agreement signed by Secretary Vilsack in December, 2009. During climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Secretary signed a historic agreement to help U.S. dairy producers cut greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement between USDA and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy calls for the parties to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms by 25 percent by 2020.
by jboullion | Oct 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Judy Newman in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Two reports show Wisconsin has a significant renewable power industry, but with a stronger state commitment, it could be saving more energy and creating more jobs.
Wisconsin has more than 300 businesses involved in wind or solar energy, providing more than 12,000 jobs, according to a study by the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago.
It found 171 Wisconsin companies that either produce, sell or install wind power equipment or plan wind development.
Another 135 companies are part of the solar energy industry. For example, Cardinal Glass makes solar panels in Mazomanie; Helios recently opened a solar panel factory in Milwaukee.
“These are real jobs; these are real businesses. Many are existing businesses that are branching out into new product lines,” said Howard Learner, the center’s executive director.
Ten years ago, Wisconsin was considered a leader on renewal energy policy, so companies located here, Learner said. “That policy support has now been eroding, and neighboring states —Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan — now have much stronger renewable standards than Wisconsin does and are exceeding Wisconsin in terms of jobs,” he added.
Meanwhile, at a news conference Tuesday, representatives of clean energy businesses made a pitch for more money for Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program, saying it will save energy, cut consumers’ costs and create jobs.
In the 10 years since it was created, Focus programs have saved utility customers 6.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, or 6.8 months of the total residential power use in the state, says the report by the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance in Chicago. It says the programs also have saved 278 therms of natural gas, or 1.8 years of statewide residential consumption.
