by jboullion | Sep 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by American Transmission Company:
Eight informational open houses to be held throughout the project study area
PEWAUKEE, Wis. – American Transmission Co. is beginning a multi-year public outreach process for the proposed Badger Coulee Transmission Line Project with the first in a series of informational open houses for residents and other stakeholders in the 150-mile project study area in late September and early October.
Studies indicate that a 345-kilovolt transmission line from the La Crosse area to the greater Madison area would provide multiple benefits to the state of Wisconsin including improved electric system reliability, economic savings for utilities and energy consumers, and better access to renewable energy.
ATC is hosting eight open houses throughout the project study area to provide stakeholders with more information about the project and answer questions.
The public is invited to attend any of the following open houses:
Monday, Sept. 27, Stoney Creek Inn, Onalaska
Tuesday, Sept. 28, Westby Coon Prairie Lutheran Church, Westby
Wednesday, Sept. 29, Kalahari Resort Convention Center, Wisconsin Dells
Thursday, Sept. 30, Sauk Prairie Community Center, Sauk City
Monday, Oct. 4, Hillsboro Fireman’s Community Center, Hillsboro
Tuesday, Oct. 5, Cranberry Country Lodge, Tomah
Wednesday, Oct. 6, Madison Marriott West Convention Center, Middleton
Thursday, Oct. 7, Grace Bible Church, Portage
Open houses at all locations run from 1 to 7 p.m.
by jboullion | Sep 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Adam Tobias in the Watertown Daily Times:
Watertown Mayor Ron Krueger didn’t get to weigh in on the federal government’s plan to bolster high-speed passenger rail service throughout the county, nor was he asked to give any input on the state’s decision to accept the $810 million in stimulus funds for the project. But since the project is moving full speed ahead, Krueger says it’s vital for Watertown to have the train stop in the city.
“The common council and myself are not going to get into the debate about whether the federal government should be spending $8 billion on developing and starting a better passenger rail program and we are also not going to get into a debate about whether the state of Wisconsin should accept the money or not,” Krueger said during a recent interview in his office. “But – and I know the majority of the common council feels as I do – if the trains are going to run between Milwaukee and Madison, and eventually Chicago and the Twin Cities, we want them to stop in Watertown because if we don’t jump on this the first time around and it gets going, it will be years and years and years before we get another opportunity.”
by jboullion | Sep 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Jo Anne Killeen in the Coulee News:
Plans are in place to install a solar hot water system at Lakeview Health Center in West Salem.
According to Jim Speropulos, facilities director for La Crosse County, installation will begin the last week of September and be completed by mid-November.
The county is also installing solar water heating panels in the new law enforcement facility in La Crosse. It’s the first solar water project for La Crosse County, Speropulos said.
“Lakeview energy usage is higher than we see at other nursing homes,” he said in explanation of why Lakeview was chosen for the solar water system.
Most of the $164,975 cost is funded through a $100,000 federal American Recovery and Reinvestment grant program the county received through the Wisconsin Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. The county also is receiving a $25,000 rebate from the Wisconsin Focus on Energy program.
Speropulos said the Lakeview system is designed to offset gas usage by about 1,665 therms per year, or about $1,360 in the first year, and the savings go up from there due to an escalator clause for an increase in future gas prices. He also said the county’s cost is expected to be recouped in about eight years.
by jboullion | Sep 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an editoiral in the Wausau Daily Herald:
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission this week released its findings from a more than five-month review of the environmental impact of the proposed biomass plant in Rothschild.
The results? Well, the PSC found fault with some of the claims made by Domtar and We Energies, the companies whose joint project the plant would be. It’s not clear whether the plant can claim to be “carbon neutral,” according to regulators. And it’s possible, the report suggested, that the companies are lowballing their estimates of the plant’s impact on forests.
Those findings must be taken seriously. But so must the PSC finding that the proposed biomass project will not have a “significant impact on the human environment.” Emissions will come in below the standards set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
To many, that always has been the most important question: Will the air we breathe be clean? There certainly are significant concerns that do not directly have to do with the plant’s emissions. But the biggest, most emotional questions always have revolved around the quality of the air our communities’ children breathe.
On emissions, the PSC findings are not the last word on the subject. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will have final authority on air emissions, and we should wait for its say before forming a final judgment.
As we’ve seen in the sometimes-heated debate about this project, the creation of a new plant like this is a charged subject. People are right to ask questions and to seek independent analyses of any project of this size.
What we’ve seen, though, is that there really is a fairly intensive process in place for review of this matter. We’ve seen numerous public hearings in several forums — almost all of which have been well-attended by those who represent the full spectrum of opinions on this project. The democratically elected government of Rothschild has had the opportunity to make its decision about zoning for the project.
With the release of this PSC report, we’ve seen an independent analysis of the facts put forward by Domtar and We Energies. The result of that analysis was not completely uncritical or uncomplicated — but it certainly didn’t find that the companies had lied, or fudged their numbers, or otherwise behaved in a way that raises more serious questions.
The next piece, perhaps the most important piece, will be the DNR analysis.
by jboullion | Sep 1, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Bayside — The partisan divide on Capitol Hill means cap-and-trade legislation is all but dead, so businesses need not worry about their carbon footprint, right? Wrong, speakers at a summit on energy efficiency said Tuesday.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and global corporations such as Wal-Mart are leading the nation down a path of “quiet regulation” of greenhouse gases, despite the political rhetoric and battles that have created gridlock in Congress, Mark Thimke, environmental lawyer at Foley & Lardner, said during the Green Manufacturing Summit at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.
But corporate initiatives have gone beyond Wal-Mart, he said.
Suppliers to 62 corporations must provide information as part of a greenhouse gas supply chain initiative launched this year. That effort includes Racine County-based manufacturers S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. and Diversey Inc., formerly JohnsonDiversey.
Thimke said that means a host of companies that may have thought they didn’t have to worry about greenhouse gases should start paying attention.
“Even if you aren’t one of the big companies and you are selling to these people, you need to know where you’re at,” Thimke said.
Energy efficiency is a carbon strategy because emissions are linked to energy production.
Efficiency opportunities abound for many manufacturers, said Jon Dommissee of Bradley Corp., a manufacturer of commercial plumbing fixtures, which co-sponsored the event.
“There’s a lot of energy wasted – and there’s a lot of money wasted,” he said.
by jboullion | Aug 31, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a story by Heather Sawaski on WAOW-TV, Wausau:
PARK FALLS (WAOW) — Flambeau River Papers in Park Falls is going to get a little greener.
Company leaders say when the new biomass plant is complete, the mill will use all of its waste energy, making it the first mill in North America not to use any fossil fuels. That’s a far cry from where the future of the paper mill stood just over 4 years ago. That’s when CEO Butch Johnson bought it out of bankruptcy. That’s when the idea of a biomass refinery in the Northwoods started to take shape.
“We’re no smarter than the guys before us that went bankrupt,” Johnson explained. “What can we do differently with our operation so we can ensure our employees, our partners in our project that we’re going to keep going? So we looked at a green initiative from the get go.”
The $300 will convert biomass from bark and sawdust into diesel for domestic markets.
Johnson says between logging, construction, and operation, the plant will bring in hundreds of jobs.
“We buy currently about 140,000 cords of wood for this paper mill,” he said. “With the bio-refinery, we would be buying an additional 365,000 cords of wood.”
by jboullion | Aug 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Wausau Daily Herald:
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission released its first assessment today of a proposed biomass plant in Rothschild, declining to perform an environmental impact statement demanded by opponents of the project and environmental groups.
In the preliminary finding released through the PSC site this afternoon, the commission members found the project would not have a “significant impact” on the surrounding community. Under state statutes, no environmental impact statement is necessary with that finding.
The commission members did take issue with the high level of particulate matter and other emissions from the plant predicted by air quality models. But the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has authority over air quality issues.
by jboullion | Aug 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Marshfield News-Herald:
Wood County Energy Assistance Office will begin taking energy assistance applications at locations throughout Wood County starting Sept.
The Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program is available to qualifying households to help in maintaining utility and heating services.
To qualify a household income must be below 60% of the state median income.
Wood County will be accepting energy assistance applications at outreach sites only. Applicants will be seen on a first come first serve basis.
Registration is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and no appointments will be scheduled for the regular season applications during this time. The Outreach Sites for the months of September and October are as follows:
September 7 WR Courthouse Auditorium
September 9 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
September 14 WR Courthouse Auditorium
September 16 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
September 22 WR Courthouse Auditorium
September 23 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
October 6 WR Courthouse Auditorium
October 7 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
October 13 WR Courthouse Auditorium
October 14 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
October 19 WR Courthouse Auditorium
October 21 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
by jboullion | Aug 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by by Shawnda Schelinder in The Daily Press, Ashland:
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College continues to respond to the rapidly growing interest in renewable energy and sustainability — both in operations and in programming. At both the campus and the college level, WITC is employing a variety of methods to improve sustainability and reduce costs. And the college continues to investigate and expand programming, while enhancing current programs.
Locally, sustainability improvements will be evident at the WITC-Ashland Campus, thanks to the Ashland County Land and Water Conservation Department and a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Rain gardens, as functional as they are pretty, were planted at the southern edge of the campus.
by jboullion | Aug 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Christine Won in the Racine Journal Times:
CALEDONIA – A report released Thursday by environmental groups points to We Energies coal ash landfills as the likely source of the groundwater contamination that has left several residents without drinking water for the past year.
Almost 40 coal ash dump sites in 21 states, including Wisconsin, are contaminating groundwater or surface water with toxic metals like arsenic, mercury or lead, according to a report by the Enviromental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club.
The Oak Creek power plant, which has one active and two closed coal ash landfills, was named as having private wells in the area contaminated by molybdenum and boron.
We Energies spokesman Barry McNulty called the report “incomplete” and “flawed,” drawn up in a time crunch to meet an agenda of getting it out before the U.S. Environmental Public Agency hearings on the coal ash rule begin nationwide Monday.
For the first time the EPA is proposing a coal ash regulation and considering two possible options at its hearings. One is to regulate as special wastes for disposal in landfills or surface impoundments and another to regulate as non-hazardous wastes.
We Energies has maintained that its coal ash sites cannot be the contaminant source because the natural groundwater in the bedrock aquifer, where most of the contaminated well water comes from, flows toward the northeast, toward the power plant.
Russell Boulding, a freelance environmental consultant who owns Boulding Soil-Water Consultant out of Bloomington, Ind., said he drew his conclusion in the report that the coal ash landfills are the most likely source for the groundwater contamination in the plant vicinity based on collected data patterns and high levels of molybdenum found within a concentrated area of the landfills. Boulding added the bedrock aquifer is a fractured system, where groundwater flow doesn’t always follow the general trend, especially if water is pumped.
A dozen private drinking water wells within 1,500 feet of the coal ash landfills were found to exceed the state groundwater standards for molybdenum and boron, 40 and 960 micrograms per liter, respectively, according to the report.
