Mason Tract and Au Sable River Protected from Oil and Gas Drilling

Sierra Club and Anglers of Au Sable Win Nine-Year Battle

For the first time in nearly a decade, a rare, truly wild stretch of the Au Sable River is free from the threat of a proposed oil and gas drilling project that would have endangered the state’s premier trout stream and one of its most spectacular old growth forests.

In 2003, a Traverse City oil and gas exploration company sought a permit to place a drilling pad in an old growth area of Huron-Manistee National Forest next to the Mason Tract, a wild piece of land hugging the Au Sable River. This week that company, Savoy Energy, told the US Forest Service (USFS) that it is abandoning its nine-year effort to drill in the so-called South Branch area. 

“This is a victory for everyone— the environment, Michigan and the people who enjoy and appreciate the beauty of the Au Sable River,” said Anne Woiwode, Michigan Chapter director.  “It’s also a victory for the Sierra Club and Anglers of the Au Sable which remained vigilant about this ill-advised proposal and the federal approval process all these years.”

The Mason Tract was designated “Forever Wild” by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources fifty years ago and boasts spectacular fishing, hunting, canoeing, cross-country skiing and hiking.  The drilling pad would have been located near the Mason Chapel, an open-air, non-denominational space beloved by fisherman and other river users.

The reason for Savoy Energy’s application withdrawal isn’t clear, but the involvement of the Sierra Club and the Anglers of the Au Sable in opposing the proposal no doubt played a significant role, said Woiwode.

Nine years ago, Nancy Shiffler, a long-time Sierra Club member and volunteer, first noticed that the proposed well was on national forest land designated as old growth in 1986, and adjacent to the Mason Tract.  She alerted the Michigan Chapter’s forest policy specialist, Marvin Roberson, who tracked the project to determine if correct procedures for approval of an application to the USFS were followed.

They weren’t, and the Sierra Club with the Anglers of the Au Sable actively fought the proposal, using tactics that included a successful lawsuit against the Huron-Manistee National Forest after the USFS failed to adequately assess all viable alternatives to the proposed siting of the well pad.  The Sierra Club had submitted a suggestion for another location to the USFS that would have kept the Mason Tract safe from the impacts of drilling, according to Roberson, but that alternative was rejected.

Ultimately, a federal judge agreed with the conservation groups and remanded the case to the USFS, requiring a full Environmental Impact Statement be conducted, a year-long process the agency was finishing up when it received the withdrawal letter from Savoy earlier this week.

“This is a perfect example of why the Sierra Club has been around for 45 years in Michigan and 120 years in the nation,” said Roberson.  “We have a vast network of dedicated, vigilant volunteers and knowledgeable staff who know what to do and have the willingness to stay in the fight until it’s won.”

Woiwode agrees. “The Sierra Club is the only organization in Michigan with the policy expertise in matters like this to have made this happen. Marvin is among the very few people who understands how the sometimes complicated federal and state approval process works,” she said.

Parts of the Mason Tract were originally owned by Bill Durant, the founder of General Motors, who built a grand home dubbed Durant’s Castle in the 1930s that burned down before he could live in it. Soon after, George Mason, the president of American Motors, purchased the rest of the properties on either side of the south section of the Au Sable River.  He willed the piece to the state when he died, and it became the largest wild stretch of river in Michigan’s lower peninsula.

“The combination of Sierra Club’s policy expertise coupled with the extensive on-the-ground knowledge of Anglers of the Au Sable made for a terrific partnership,” Roberson said. “The Mason Tract is safe for now but we have to stay vigilant and hope that this sets a precedent so other companies won’t try to drill foolishly near our few remaining precious pieces of wilderness.”

For an in-depth look at the story behind the protection of the Mason Tract and Au Sable River, click here.

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Clean Energy Advocates Pan DEQ Awards To 3 Coal Plants

Contact: Tiffany Hartung, 231.747.7489, tiffany.hartung@sierraclub.org

Push for DEQ to protect Michiganders’ health, stop phony awards

LANSING – Clean energy advocates are speaking out after DTE Energy, Consumers Energy and Holland Board of Public Works coal plants today received “Neighborhood Environmental Partners Awards” from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The advocates want to know why the DEQ is patting bad actors and notorious polluters on the back and letting its mission to protect the health and safety of Michigan residents fall to the wayside.

“If these were trophies for dangerous and poisonous polluters, then these companies should win hands down,” said Tiffany Hartung with Sierra Club, “but they should not be honored for being neighborhood environmental partners. There is evidence that these coal plants are pouring toxins into nearby waterways, harming Michigan residents. The DEQ should be giving out awards to clean energy leaders, instead. Clean energy is cheaper to produce, creates good jobs in Michigan, and, most importantly, does not endanger our health. Families should be the winners here, not polluters."

The three DEQ honorees are Consumers Energy’s J.R. Whiting coal plant, DTE Energy’s Monroe coal plant, and the Holland Board of Public Works’ James DeYoung plant. According to the DEQ, the Neighborhood Environmental Partners program was developed to recognize facilities for “work on local projects that benefit their communities and the environment.”

Topping the award list is one of the state’s biggest polluters, the DTE Monroe coal plant. The plant is the largest emitter of toxic mercury pollution in Michigan; in 2010 the US Environmental Protection Agency took DTE to court for failing to install modern pollution controls.  

Holland’s DeYoung power station sulfur dioxide pollution threatens Holland residents with emissions that are 3.5 times the public-health based ambient standard; while Consumers’ Whiting facility is one of the coal ash sites in the state that already has been shown to cause damage to the environment.

“DEQ should stop handing out shoddy awards to big polluters and prioritize creating a healthy Michigan by protecting communities and our natural resources,” said Susan Harley with Clean Water Action. ”Dirty energy extracts a price too high for Michiganders to shoulder. These dirty coal plants are hurting our families, our children and, most importantly, our future.”

The Michigan Environmental Council recently reported that Michigan’s coal plants cost a family of four an average of more than $500 a year in health expenses and damages, including hospital admissions, premature death, asthma treatments, respiratory problems, cardiovascular problems and more. The total price tag, MEC research revealed, is about $1.5 billion annually in health care costs.

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About Clean Energy Now: CEN is a coalition of groups that supports policies that will move Michigan beyond coal power toward greater use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency as a way to protect the environment and build prosperity.  Follow the campaign at www.cleanenergynowmi.org.

Sierra Club's Environmental Justice Program Makes a Difference in Detroit

By Ryan Stock, Environmental Justice Intern

As a graduate student pursuing a degree in Environmental Justice at the University of Michigan, I grew increasingly enraged by the disproportionate burden of toxic substances that low-income and ethnic/racial minority communities in Detroit must endure. When Sierra Club’s Rhonda Anderson shared her work with downriver communities to my school, I instantly approached her for an internship!

Since May, we’ve:

• compiled data for each specific community we work in, combining toxic release data from industrial facilities with public health data;
• pressed the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency to establish cumulative impact consideration for these communities;
• drafted a blueprint for clean energy downriver;
• worked with Blue-Green Alliance to leverage cleaner operations for US Steel and Severstal Steel;
• begun the process of drafting new Environmental Justice legislation for Michigan;
• wrote a State of the Environment Report for Detroit that details industry contributions to pollution, climate change, poverty and negative public health outcomes.

The list goes on and on. However, what I am most proud of is working side-by-side with Rhonda. Never in my life have I had a supervisor who respected me as an equal, with such a precise moral compass and clairvoyant vision. Now I’m scared I will never find a job this rewarding!

For more information about the Sierra Club's  Environmental Justice program in Detroit, visit http://www.sierraclub.org/ej/programs/mi.aspx.

Clean Energy Advocates Applaud Public Comments Extension

News from Clean Energy Now
Thursday, September 6, 2012

Holland Residents Can Now Address Study’s Shortcomings,
As Their Energy Future is Determined

HOLLAND, MI - After two days of hearings and nearly three dozen local voices highlighting severe deficiencies in Holland Board of Public Works (HBPW) commissioned study, Holland residents were encouraged to see that the Board extended the public comment period on future electric generation options. Most of the residents who testified at the hearings raised extensive concerns about the Board's failure to seriously consider clean energy options like efficiency and renewable sources. Clean air and clean energy advocates still question whether HBPW will provide substantive responses to the comments submitted, including directing the consulting firm to run additional scenarios that reflect the goals of the Community Energy Planning process that thousands of Holland residents participated in and what was expected to help guide future decisions by HBPW.

“The Holland Board of Public Works has the clean energy future of Holland in their hands, and all Holland residents deserve a seat at the table. We applaud the Board for finally allowing the public to comment, but their work isn’t done,” said Jan O’Connell with Sierra Club. “Transitioning Holland to clean, renewable energy sources is a common sense solution that will create jobs and save families money.  Renewable energy and energy efficiency haven’t been seriously examined, and there has been an unnecessary push for a large gas-fired power plant. Holland families deserve a serious discussion over the possibilities of renewable energy."

DTE Admits Substantial Liability from Coal

DTE releases report tallying true cost of coal’s impact on public health, environment

DETROIT – DTE Energy filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission recently exposing and acknowledging the increasing costs for shareholders and ratepayers and the looming environmental impact associated with coal. For decades, the costs of coal-operated plants in Michigan have negatively impacted air quality and public health. DTE's plants continue to rely on coal, and create a looming risk for Michigan families and ratepayers as DTE estimates spending as much as $2 billion by 2021 to reduce air pollution from old coal plants and potentially another $55 million to reduce impacts on our Great Lakes and waterways. Citizens groups are calling on DTE to embrace renewable energy in order to curb costs and reduce a negative public health and environmental impact.  

“The days of shrugging off the negative impacts of coal are over,” said Tiffany Hartung with Sierra Club. “DTE Energy admitted that the costs of coal will only continue to rise. We can no longer stick our heads in the sand and pretend this ongoing issue isn’t impacting our community’s health. Protecting Michigan families means transitioning away from aging coal plants towards clean, renewable energy sources, because you can’t put a price tag on a healthy future.”

In July 2009, DTE Energy received a Notice of Violation/Finding of Violation (NOV/FOV) from the EPA alleging that five Detroit Edison power plants violated New Source Performance standards, Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements, and operating permit requirements under the Clean Air Act. An additional NOV/FOV was received in June 2010 related to a recent project and outage at Unit 2 of the Monroe Power Plant.

“It's time for DTE to stop ignoring common-sense protections that are intended to keep the public safe from harmful coal pollution," said Susan Harley, Policy Director of Clean Water Action. "We're calling on DTE to embrace clean, renewable energy to save ratepayers money, and to protect the health and well-being of middle class Michigan families.

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About Clean Energy Now: CEN is a coalition of groups that supports policies that will move Michigan beyond coal power toward greater use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency as a way to protect the environment and build prosperity.

Follow the campaign at www.cleanenergynowmi.org.

Michigan Wilderness Celebration Series Concludes at Horseshoe Bay Aug 18

The Michigan Wilderness Act Celebration concludes at Horseshoe Bay Wilderness on Saturday, Aug. 18, from 10 am-Noon with a program at St. Ignace Township Hall, N4298 Gorman Rd, St, Ignace, MI 49781. The event will feature reminiscences by key players in the political drama who successfully fought to protect 10 wilderness areas in Michigan in 1987 and will include a light brunch buffet.

In order to attend, please RSVP by Aug. 13. Email gail.philbin@sierraclub.org or call 517-484-2372, ext. 10.

Program speakers will include Chapter Director Anne Woiwode, who was a young environmentalist at the time, and Jo Reyer, USFS Hiawatha National Forest Supervisor, as well as past and current local activists involved in protecting the area.

Twenty-five years ago, a bruising 10-year battle over the wilderness designation of less than one percent of Michigan’s three million acres of national forest lands split the state’s conservation community and challenged lawmakers to take a stand on a political hot potato issue.

Despite the difficulty, in 1987 Congress passed the Michigan Wilderness Act, protecting 90,000 acres of spectacular old growth forests, lakes and dunes around the state that became these beloved wilderness areas: Big Island Lake, Delirium, Horseshoe Bay, Mackinac, McCormick, Nordhouse Dunes, Rock River Canyon, Round Island, Sturgeon River Gorge, and Sylvania.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Act, Sierra Club’s Michigan Chapter has been hosting several events to tell the story behind this legislation. The series kicked off at Nordhouse Dunes on May 19 and continued July 15 at Sylvania Wilderness. Congressman Dale Kildee was also honored for his leadership in getting the Act passed at a special event in Flint on June 13.

The Michigan Wilderness Act has its roots in the USFS’s Roadless Area Review and Evaluation 2 (RARE 2), a national process it started in 1977 to identify and propose qualifying areas in national forests for potential wilderness designation. In Michigan, teams of Sierra Club volunteers got involved and visited all areas under consideration, recording their observations on a comprehensive checklist used to rate them.

“In an era of typewriters and the exotic new technology of photocopiers, Jane and dozens of volunteers were the point people on organizing the information and the activists to push for passage of the areas identified,” says Woiwode. “But politics got complicated early on, and it became an enormous battle.”

By 1980, Congressman Bob Carr and Senator Donald Riegle had sponsored Michigan wilderness bills in the U.S. House and Senate respectively, but Representative Carr lost his seat in 1982, and Senator Riegle reversed his support for some areas under pressure from wilderness opponents, delaying enactment for another Congress. Fortunately, Congressman Dale Kildee took up the banner in the House and stewarded it through to passage, along with Senator Carl Levin’s able help.

“The beauty of the wilderness law is that nothing man had done has changed the lands; they are managed much as they came from the hand of God,” said Kildee. “I know not everyone is going to visit a wilderness area, but it is nice to know in today’s high-tech society, there will always be areas where people can ski, snowshoe or paddle a canoe in an absolutely motorless area.

“This is all possible because 25 years ago we had the foresight and wisdom to understand that some parts of a forest are too precious to develop.”

In Michigan, opposition to the bill was strong among UP legislators, and the Michigan United Conservation Clubs refused to support the wilderness designation. The arguments given back then sound familiar today: wilderness and old growth have no value; you can’t manage wildlife (i.e. cut timber for deer or grouse habitat) in protected areas; we need to harvest valuable timber, and we have a right to use our motorized vehicles on public land.

“These are common themes of opposition today,” says Woiwode. “It demonstrates the battle to protect Michigan’s natural heritage will never be over—we have to remain vigilant.”

“A decade-long campaign was an incredible undertaking, but none of us involved will ever question whether or not it was worth it when we look at the splendid shores and wild heart of Michigan that are this heroic effort’s living legacy,” says Jane Elder, a passionate advocate who walked the halls of Congress and hiked wilderness trails to help win the fight.

“Even though this was, at times, a divisive and emotionally charged issue, over the years we found common ground across rural and urban areas, in both parties, and in both houses of Congress,” she adds. “This momentum carried us to a presidential signature in 1987.”

To view essays and reminiscences by Elder, Woiwode and others written about Michigan wilderness and the historic act that protected it, visit www.michiganwilderness.blogspot.com.

In addition to the Aug. 18, program, Sierra Club is offering a Horseshoe Bay Wilderness Camp-Out from Aug. 17-19. For details and to RSVP, email Carol Ward at saltpt@lighthouse.net. For questions, contact 517-484-2372, ext. 10.

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Directions:

To get to St. Ignace Township Hall, take I75 north of the Mackinac Bridge and St. Ignace about 9 miles to exit M123. Exit right and drive .3 mile  until you come to a stop sign, turn left onto the Mackinac Trail.  Go 2.6 miles north until you come to Gorman Road and turn right. The township hall is about 1.8 miles down on the left at N4298 Gorman Rd. Mapquest directions are here: http://mapq.st/Q6Ap6j

Another Bad Air Quality Day makes it “Unbearable” for West Michigan Asthmatic Children

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News from Clean Energy Now

Friday, June 8th, 2012

Contact: Monica Bakker, Monica.bakker@sierraclub.org  

              Shane Levy, 415.977.5724, shane.levy@sierraclub.org

Bad Air Quality Days on the rise with warmer weather forcing West Michigan Families to stay indoors

HOLLAND, MI – The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality declared Saturday an “orange” air quality day in West Michigan, meaning unhealthy air for children and those with respiratory problems to breathe.  “Orange” air days and other poor and dangerous air quality days are determined by the level of ozone pollution, known as smog, and other dangerous pollutants in the air. Ozone pollution from coal-fired power plants combines with warm weather to exacerbate respiratory problems for certain groups, making it harder to breathe. Four coal-fired power plants from Holland to Muskegon contribute to the pollution, along with automobiles and pollution blown in from across Lake Michigan. 

“Michigan’s most vulnerable are being exposed to unhealthy air from local coal plants like the James De Young, BC Cobb, JH Campbell and JB Sims and are struggling with something as simple as breathing,” said Monica Bakker, a new mother with Sierra Club in Holland. “We all deserve the right to enjoy summer out of doors. Our kids should only have to remember to pack their swimsuits this summer, not their inhalers.”

Smog is a dangerous pollutant, which causes the lungs and airways to become inflamed and swollen. Even at low levels smog can cause asthma attacks, aggravate lung function or cause permanent lung damage. Children, seniors and people with chronic respiratory and heart disease are especially high risk.

"Air quality alert days like today make it unbearable for children with

existing asthma and elderly with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to breathe," said Christina Fuglseth, Respiratory Therapist and Chair of the Holland Better Breather’s Club. "Investing in clean, renewable energy projects instead of coal will translate into healthier

children being able to play outside without fearing consequences and the elderly being able to enjoy the outdoors.”

In the Grand Rapids/Muskegon/Holland metro area 24,055 children and 86,359 adults suffer from asthma. For those individuals and others with respiratory condition, air alert day represents an especially dangerous threat to their health.

As summer heats up, warmer weather will increase levels of dangerous smog pollution.   Coal-fired power plants are estimated to cause more than 12,000 visits to the emergency room and more than $100 billion in health costs each year.  Holland Board of Public Works JD Young coal plant, Grand Haven Board of Power and Light JB Sims, Consumers Energy's Cobb plant in Muskegon and West Olive plant are all major contributors to the pollution in West Michigan. 

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Air Now Index: michigan.gov/air

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