January 20, 2011

Sierra Club Statement on Governor Snyder's
Support for Voluntary MAEAP For Agriculture

Governor Snyder’s first State of the State offered many positive sounding initiatives, including an emphasis on building local agricultural and other businesses, and increasing urban investments.  However, the Governor’s proposal to emphasize voluntary standards for agriculture raises many questions when it comes to proper control of massive, industrial agricultural operations such as livestock factories.  The contention that “frivolous lawsuits” must be averted raises an unsubstantiated claim that there have been numerous such lawsuits against agricultural operations in the state.

In fact, Michigan’s Right to Farm act has barred hundreds if not thousands of rural neighbors of polluting factory farms from protecting their family’s health, their property and their businesses from the destruction caused by air and water pollution. In addition, the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program, or MAEAP, referred to by Governor Snyder, has been found by state and federal environmental agencies as failing to meet requirements for protecting the environment.  

We look forward to quick clarification from the Governor as to this plank.

See Sierra Club's letter to Governor Snyder here. 

January 13, 2011

Coal-burning plants: Bad business for Michigan

 Democrats’ job-killer policy would hurt Michigan’s business climate, require electricity rate hikes

Environmental groups today criticized state House Democratic leaders today for their bewildering support for new job-killing, costly and polluting coal-fired power plants in Michigan.

“At a time when Michigan is positioned to attract tens of thousands of new clean energy jobs – on top of the 109,000 we already have – the House Democratic leadership has apparently made the choice to chase those jobs away by embracing old coal, instead,”  said Lisa Wozniak, executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “If this is the kind of short sighted decision-making we can expect from the House Democrats over the next two years, both the environment and economy of Michigan will suffer."

New coal plants create temporary jobs during construction, but compete with renewable energy projects and undermine the state’s long-term economic growth in the clean energy sector.

The groups said the Democratic proposal would trigger costly and unnecessary electric rate increases for struggling Michigan families and small businesses. It would also undermine growing clean energy industries in Michigan that are adding jobs.

With electricity demand dropping, renewable energy growing, and Michigan families and businesses struggling to make ends meet, new rate hikes for unneeded coal plants are abysmally bad public policy.

“This is bad news for Michigan workers and consumers. I challenge anyone to identify one new power plant built in this country in the last decade that didn’t result in a rate increase,” said James Clift, policy director of the Michigan Environmental Council. “Ask WE Energy customers in the Upper Peninsula. Their new coal-fired power plant resulted in a 30 percent rate increase.  The Michigan Public Service Commission projected the proposed Wolverine plant in Roger City would double customer rates – on average by almost $70 per month.”

Detroit Edison recently asked to raise its rates to cover an expected $73 million in utility bills that ratepayers are unable to pay because of the state’s poor economy.  Meanwhile, projected demand for electricity in areas served by Detroit Edison has dropped to 1998 levels.  Consumers Energy is in a similar position of excess capacity.

“Protecting ratepayers absolutely must be the focus of any utility investment decisions moving forward,” said Anne Woiwode, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter director.  “Michigan cannot afford to make bad decisions in the energy field if it wants to compete globally.  To keep our rates low, Michigan can meet future demand through a low-cost combination of energy efficiency, renewable power and demand management.”

A new power plant would lock Michiganders into sending money out of state to import more than $9 billion worth of coal for the next 50 years. All costs for new coal plants will be borne by ratepayers under legislation passed in 2008, and residential users will pay the biggest portion of that increase.

Across the nation, no utility has began construction of a new coal plant in the last two years – and plans for 138 have been dropped or put on indefinite hold.  In Michigan, CMS announced plans last year to indefinitely delay its proposed Karn Weadock coal plant expansion near Bay City because of the lack of demand for the power and forecasts for lower natural gas prices.

“States across the nation – including Michigan recently – are building new networks to produce cleaner, cheaper electricity while providing long term in-state jobs and growing local businesses,” said Cyndi Roper, Michigan director for Clean Water Action. “Why the Michigan House Democratic leadership wants to cling to a past that has failed us is a mystery.

December 22, 2010 

Groups Ask Snyder To Support Clean Energy Jobs

Letter Focuses On Incoming Administration’s Coal Plant Policies

LANSING, MI—Twelve citizens groups representing hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents today delivered a letter to Governor-Elect Rick Snyder asking him to continue state policies that require consideration of energy alternatives and the need for more energy as part of the process of issuing permits for new coal plants.

The letter to Snyder was sent by leading environmental and energy groups representing citizens from through the state.
“Coal plants are a barrier to economic progress and a hazard to public health,” said the groups in their letter.  “To attract clean energy jobs, Michigan must send a strong signal that our future lies in energy efficiency, wind, solar, advanced battery, and other clean energy technologies – not outdated, 19th-century coal.”

Snyder was urged to support state energy policies that are:

• Protecting Michigan ratepayers from expensive and unneeded power sources when cheaper alternatives are available;
• Creating much-needed clean energy jobs in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy; and
• Improving public health by reducing dangerous emissions and pollution from the power sector that causes illness and contributes to climate change.

Organizations that wrote to Snyder are:

CLEAN WATER ACTION • ECOLOGY CENTER • ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT • GREAT LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER • LONE TREE COUNCIL •MICHIGAN ENERGY ALTERNATIVES PROJECT • MICHIGAN LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS • MIDLAND CARES • NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL • SIERRA CLUB • SIERRA CLUB STUDENT COALITION • WEST MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COUNCIL

The full text of the letter follows.

Thursday, December 22, 2010

Honorable Rick Snyder, Governor-Elect

State of Michigan

VIA FACSIMILE

Dear Governor-Elect Snyder:

We the undersigned urge you to support Michigan’s path to a clean energy future by continuing to require a thorough analysis of the need for and alternatives to new sources of power before they are built.

State and federal law require consideration of feasible and prudent alternatives to new polluting energy sources like coal plants.  Examination of the need for new power is part of such consideration of alternatives, and is essential for Michigan’s clean energy future.

 Studying both the demand for new power and alternative sources of energy for meeting such demand is vital to Michigan for the following reasons:

• Protecting Michigan ratepayers from expensive and unneeded power sources when cheaper alternatives are available;
• Creating much-needed clean energy jobs in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy; and
• Improving public health by reducing dangerous emissions and pollution from the power sector that causes illness and contributes to climate change.

Coal plants are a barrier to economic progress and a hazard to public health. To attract clean energy jobs, Michigan must send a strong signal that our future lies in energy efficiency, wind, solar, advanced battery, and other clean energy technologies – not outdated, 19th-century coal. Policies such as Executive Directive 2009-02 that provide for the study of the need for and alternatives to new sources of generation are a reasonable, common-sense measure that will help Michigan accomplish its goal of building a robust clean energy sector while protecting ratepayers and our “Pure Michigan” natural resources.

As a technology leader and innovator, you understand how important it is to seize opportunities before others and how essential it is to make wise and measured business decisions.   Michigan businesses and families cannot afford to shoulder the high utility bills it will take to cover the cost of unneeded coal plants with price tags in the billions.  Not only will Michigan lose out on attracting new business, but also high energy costs from unneeded plants will drive out our existing companies.

Moreover, when it comes to growing more clean energy jobs, Michigan cannot afford to delay.  By devoting limited resources toward building new coal plants that would operate for the next 50 years, Michigan will be giving up clean energy jobs to other states and countries.

Investors large and small are eagerly preparing to play larger roles in the U.S. clean energy sector. At the same time, other nations such as China, South Korea and India are ramping up their commitments to clean energy and are poised to surpass the United States in this vital sector. China is investing $12.6 million an hour to grow its clean energy sector. Meanwhile, only six of the top 30 wind, solar and advanced battery manufacturers are based in the United States, even though U.S. innovation planted the seed for key clean energy technologies.

Clean energy is already one of the few bright spots in Michigan’s economy, creating more than 100,000 jobs in Michigan from 2005 to 2008, an 8-percent increase while jobs overall declined 5.4 percent during that period, according to a 2009 Michigan Green Jobs Report.

Examining need and alternatives when it comes to the state’s energy choices will also benefit public health and help protect Michigan’s unique natural resources.  Human health must be a factor when making energy decisions and take into account the fact that air and water pollution from coal plants causes health impacts such as: premature death, asthma, developmental disabilities, and cancer.  Our fishing and tourism industries have already been harmed by the mercury contamination in our rivers, lakes, and streams that make our fish unsafe to eat.  In addition, global climate change poses grave threats to our Great Lakes way of life, and we must take steps to minimize greenhouse gas pollution.

For reasons that are vital to the health of our residents, environment, and economy, we the undersigned urge you to uphold policies such as Executive Directive 2009-02 that examine need and alternatives to new sources of energy.  Now is the time for you to support Michigan businesses and much-needed local jobs by demonstrating your commitment to clean energy, new technology and a strong Michigan future.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.  You can contact us through Anne Woiwode, Michigan Director, Sierra Club, 517-974-2112,anne.woiwode@sierraclub.org or at Sierra Club, 109 E. Grand River Avenue, Lansing, MI 48906.
 

Sincerely,

Cyndi Roper Clean Water Action Samuel E. Flenner III Environmental Integrity Project Terry Miller Lone Tree Council  Lisa Wozniak Michigan League of Conservation Voters Shannon Fisk Natural Resources Defense Council Michaela Howard Sierra Club Student Coalition

Michael Garfield Ecology Center Nick Schroeck Great Lakes Environmental Law Center Tom Karas Michigan Energy Alternatives Project Peter Sinclair Midland Cares Anne Woiwode Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Nick Occhipinti West Michigan Environmental Action Counci

NRDC Fact Sheet on the Consumers Energy Karn Weadock Coal Fired Plant

NRDC Fact Sheet on the Consumers Energy Karn Weadock Coal Fired Plant

"The Proposed Consumers Coal Plant: an Unnecessary Economic and Public Health Risk"

NRDC Fact Sheet on the Consumers Energy Karn Weadock Coal Fired Plant, "The Proposed Consumers Coal Plant: an Unnecessary Economic and Public Health Risk"

November 30, 2010 

Contact: Anne Woiwode, 517-484-2372 

Statement on Governor Elect Rick Snyder’s
Quality of Life cluster announcement

From the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Director Anne Woiwode

Protecting the health, water and air quality, natural resources and food systems for the state ofMichigan are among the most important responsibilities of the Governor of Michigan.  While the directors of the agencies overseeing these key issues are important, the most important job the Governor has is to clearly articulate the values that he/she expects these directors to embody in their day to day decision making.

The announcement by Governor-elect Rick Snyder of plans to create a Quality of Life cluster of agencies (including the re-split Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Department of Agriculture) and appointment of Dan Wyant as both the executive of this cluster and Director of the re-created Department of Environmental Quality is a surprising one. These agencies touch every person in Michigan virtually everyday, and are critical to our well-being and economic stability as a state. Long term, connecting these agencies with the goal of enhancing protection of health and the environment could be a positive step. However, the re-splitting of the DNRE just a year into its reorganization, the loss of large numbers of staff through early retirement and the  substantial and growing funding shortfalls that threaten their legally mandated requirements to implement federal and state laws, will likely add to the huge hurdles faced by the agencies in the next year or more.

The choices of Rodney Stokes as the Director of the re-created Department of Natural Resources and of Keith Creagh as the Director of the expanded Department of Agriculture puts individuals with long histories and experience in their respective agencies at the helm. Their respective experience will help direct these agencies at a time when overwhelming uncertainty will be a way of life.

The appointment of Dan Wyant as Director of the recreated Department of Environmental Quality and executive of the Quality of Life cluster raises a number of critical questions that Governor-elect Snyder must address.  Mr. Wyant was a major player in the strategy executed by the administration of Governor John Engler to remove all environmental, land use and public health policy protections from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) during the 1990’s.  In the 1980’s Michigan was respected as the state with the best tools for protecting the health of rural residents, and preventing contamination of fisheries, drinking water and recreational waters, but by 1999 the state was notorious for having the worst program in the nation regarding CAFO pollution.

In 2002, the US Environmental Protection Agency under George W. Bush came within a day of beginning proceedings to remove Michigan’s authority over the Clean Water Act because of the decisions made by Mr. Wyant and his colleagues in the Engler Administration. Specifically, the Engler Administration’s decision to transfer authority over water quality from regulation under the DEQ to voluntary compliance under the Department of Agriculture and to resist requiring water quality permits for even badly polluting CAFOs led to a citizen petition to USEPA in 1999 asking for the federal agency to revoke Michigan’s delegation under the Clean Water Act.

The impact of the Engler Administration’s refusal to regulate water and air pollution from CAFOs was largely responsible for the extraordinary difficulty the state of Michigan has even today with forcing the clean up of badly polluting CAFOs, including the Vreba Hoff Dairy CAFOs in Hillsdale and Lenawee County.  Mr. Wyant’s statements as recently as 2005 regarding his belief that the state should not require permits for CAFOs raises important questions about Governor-elect Snyder’s policy direction with regard to implementing, enforcing and complying with federal environmental laws.

We look forward to Governor-elect Snyder sharing with the people of Michigan his intentions regarding these issues, and look forward to the public having a substantial role in shaping the policies that will affect our public health, food quality and resources in the coming years.

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Statement on Vreba-Hoff Transfer

November 23 , 2010

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Statement on Vreba-Hoff Transfer

LANSING, MI - Last week, Rabo AgriFinance, Inc., informed Michigan DNRE officials they have taken possession of the three Vreba-Hoff Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Vreba Hoff1 and 2, and Waldron Dairy. They are seeking to have the “operation permits” transferred to their wholly owned subsidiary, Southern Michigan Dairies, LLC.

The 3000 remaining cows are now at Vreba-Hoff II in Hillsdale County. But the manure and other animal waste remains at VH-I and Waldron, millions of gallons of it sitting in pits. Under previous court order, the water is to be treated and it must meet permit standards before it is applied to the land. Unfortunately, the “treated water” has never met the permit standards. Instead, the more solid manure and animal waste in the pits is being land-applied as a slurry. It’s unknown what will happen to all thefilthy water that doesn’t meet the permit water quality standards.

Will Rabo AgriFinance, Inc,, or Southern Michigan Dairies, LLC, suddenly be able to treat and dispose of all that filthy water safely, without triggering yet more environmental violations? No matter who owns the leftovers, it all must be safely disposed. Plus, those3000 remaining cows are still producing milk, and they’re still producing yet more manure and other waste. Lots and lots of it.

To add more confusion and uncertainty to this whole situation, a Memorandum of Option Agreement, without any details made public, was signed between Southern Michigan Dairies, LLC(Cedar Falls, Iowa) and Nova Lait, LLC (Waseon, Ohio). Southern Michigan Dairies LLC has granted to WHM Van Bakel certain rights and options to purchase their interest in the real property, ie. the CAFOs. So Mr. Van Bakel has an option to buyback the same properties that AgriFinance has taken over.

What can Michigan residents expect with these dairies’ management in flux? The first two failed, with literally hundreds of environmental violations related to manure and other animal waste that was discharged to waters of the state. First the Vander Hoffs, then Willy Van Bakel, and they each had several different managers in succession. None of them ever brought the dairies into compliance with clean water laws. The state long ago threw up their hands in frustration, and sued. Though many court battles have ensued, nothing has changed, the violations continue to accrue. For the whole long list, check out http://nocafos.org/news.htm.

It’s as yet unknown what Rabo AgriFinance, Inc. plans to do. The Sierra Club sincerely hopes that whatever happens, and who ever owns the CAFOs, that they’re made to do what has not yet been possible - either clean up this operation, or shut it down for good.

DTE’s Dirty Expansion: Illegal Effort to Avoid Coal Plant Clean Up

Sierra Club, NRDC Join U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Action Against Detroit Edison’s Dirty, Dangerous Monroe Power Plant

(DETROIT, MI)—The Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council intervened as plaintiffs in an ongoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air Act enforcement action against DTE Energy September 28th. EPA’s lawsuit alleges that DTE unlawfully extended the life of Unit 2 of its dirty and dangerous Monroe coal-fired power plant in Michigan without installing the pollution controls needed to protect public health.

“DTE Energy tried to sneak around their responsibility to control the harmful pollution from the expansion of its Monroe plant,” said James Gignac, Midwest Director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “The Clean Air Act exists to protect people from potentially deadly pollution. By trying to side-step these rules, DTE is putting people in Michigan in harm’s way.”

Additional pollution from this plant simply adds insult to injury for southeastern Michigan residents. A September 2010 report published by the Clean Air Task Force identifies Monroe as the most harmful coal-fired power plant in the entire country, estimating that 278 deaths, 206 hospital admissions, and 445 heart attacks can be attributed to Monroe<’s pollution in 2010.

“It is long past time that this nearly 40-year-old dinosaur is cleaned up or shut down,” said Shannon Fisk, Senior Attorney in the Midwest Office of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Unit 2 of the DTE Monroe coal plant is the single largest emitter of harmful sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in all of Michigan.”

In March of 2010, DTE began a major modification to its Monroe plant in order to extend the operating life of the aging facility. The Monroe plant is in an area that EPA has classified as being “out of attainment” with national public health based air quality standards, and the major modifications at Monroe should have triggered a Clean Air Act requirement for DTE to install modern pollution controls, which would protect people from harmful pollution coming from the plant.

The Sierra Club and NRDC’s intervention adds substantial value to the EPA case against DTE. As two of the leading environmental advocacy organizations in the country, with active membership in Michigan, the Sierra Club and NRDC will work with EPA to ensure the appropriate process is observed and that DTE is not allowed to unlawfully endanger people in Michigan by increasing the pollution emitted from the Monroe plant. Please contact David Graham-Caso or Josh Mogerman (contact information provided above) for a copy of the intervention filing.

For more information about the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Michigan, please visit http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/mi/ For more information about the Natural Resources Defense Council, please visit http://www.nrdc.org