Groups Join DOJ to Halt Serious Air Pollution from DTE Coal-burning Power Plants

Plants lack modern pollution controls that protect human health

Contact:
Shannon Fisk, Earthjustice, (215) 717-4522
Tiffany Hartung, Sierra Club (248) 933-2451

Detroit-Conservation groups took legal action late last week to support the Department of Justice (DOJ) efforts to clean up several of Detroit Edison’s coal-burning power plants in Southern Michigan by requiring them to comply with the Clean Air Act.

Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, amended its complaint in the case of US v. DTE Energy Company, to clean up Detroit Edison’s River Rouge, Trenton Channel, and Belle River coal-fired power plants. Earlier last week, DOJ amended its complaint to add the same claims on Trenton Channel, River Rouge and Belle River, and additional claims against the Monroe coal plant.

According to the Clean Air Task Force, these additional three coal-burning plants collectively contribute to 157 deaths, 254 heart attacks, and 2,480 asthma attacks each year.

“The River Rouge and Trenton Channel coal plants are aging dinosaurs that Detroit Edison continues to operate without readily available and legally required pollution control technology,” said Shannon Fisk, an Earthjustice attorney handling this case.  “It is far past time for Detroit Edison to protect public health and create jobs by cleaning those plants up or retiring and replacing them with affordable clean energy resources.”

The violations stem from Detroit Edison’s major, multi-million dollar modifications at those plants without installation of the legally-required modern pollution controls that would help protect public health.  As a result of these violations, Detroit Edison’s coal plants have emitted hundreds to thousands of tons of additional harmful air pollutants every year.

Emissions from coal-burning plants include dangerous pollutants like carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury. High levels of exposure to these emissions can cause irritation of the throat and lungs, leading to difficulty breathing, increased asthma symptoms, more respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

“When I think about clean and renewable sources of energy, I think about the infinite possibilities of creating jobs and powering Michigan through cleaner sources like wind and solar power,” said Douglas Myers, River Rouge resident and Sierra Club member. “If DTE were to focus on forward thinking in the problem areas we could remove a lot of the dirty and harmful elements being emitted through their current facilities.”

This case was initially filed in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. EPA as an enforcement action regarding an illegal modification at Unit 2 of Detroit Edison’s Monroe coal plant.  Sierra Club intervened in that proceeding.   While the federal district court initially ruled against DOJ and Sierra Club, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit earlier this year reversed the district court decision.  As a result, DOJ and Sierra Club’s case against Monroe Unit 2 continues, and both plaintiffs are seeking to expand their claims to address legal violations at other Detroit Edison coal units.

 When Congress enacted the Clean Air Act of 1970, thousands of power plants, refineries, and other facilities were emitting large volumes of various air pollutants. The act required new facilities to be equipped with the most modern and efficient pollution-control technologies available. Many existing plants were let off the hook on the theory that they would be taken out of service fairly rapidly and replaced with new, clean plants.   The coal industry lobbied congress and the EPA to be allowed to continue running these old plants without adding modern pollution controls.  As a result, many of these aging, polluting facilities are still operating today, over 40 years later.

The law did, however, include important provisions addressing the older plants: If and when they make changes that increase emissions, they are required to retrofit with up-to-date technologies.  This is a key part of what the law calls the New Source Review (NSR) program. 

“Big coal has fought against NSR with respect to existing plants ever since the program was created,” continued Fisk.  “It has filed many lawsuits to challenge the program and simply refused to abide by it.”

National Experts/Farmers Explore Local Threats to Safe, Healthy Food in Central MI

Sierra Club Organizing Event Spotlights Factory Farms Sep. 12 at CMU

What:    Sierra Club Organizing Meeting focusing on factory farming in Central Michigan

When:   7:30pm, Thursday, Sep. 12, 2013

Where:  French Auditorium (first floor), Education and Human Services Building, Central Michigan University (Ottawa near Washington Street on West Campus); Parking in Lot 56 next to EHS Bldg.

Cost:      Free

RSVP:    By Sep. 11 to family@seeling.org or gail.philbin@sierraclub.org

Sierra Club hosts an organizing meeting that will focus on the issue of factory farming in Central Thurs., Sep. 12, at 7:30pm in the French Auditorium of the Education and Human Services Building at Central Michigan University. The meeting is free and open to the public.

The event will feature Joe Maxwell, Vice President of Outreach and Engagement at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and a Missouri hog farmer, who will discuss the environmental, human and animal impacts of the massive confinement approach to livestock farming. Lynn Henning, Sierra Club Water Sentinel and Lenawee County farmer, will explore the relationship between environmental pollution and farm subsidies in the region.

Area residents concerned about the quality of their water, air and natural resources are invited to attend this meeting, which will begin a community conversation about important regional environmental issues. Sierra Club Michigan Chapter staff will provide information about local Chapter outings and activities and opportunities to get involved in helping to form a Sierra Club volunteer group in the area.

For details and to RSVP, email family@seeling.org or gail.philbin@sierraclub.org.

New Report Shows At Least 16 Coal-fired Power Plants in Michigan Discharge Toxic Coal Ash or Wastewater

Report Highlights Critical Need for Strong Federal Standards

CONTACT: Alison Flowers, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign, alison.flowers@sierraclub.org, 303-246-6297

Patrick Geans, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign, patrick.geans@sierraclub.org

DETROIT, MICHIGAN -- Today, a coalition of environmental and clean water groups, including the Sierra Club, held a press conference and water sports demo at Belanger Park, River Rouge, Michigan, to demonstrate the importance of strong U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards that limit toxic water pollution from coal plants. This event coincided with the release of a new national report this week which shows at least 16 coal-fired power plants in Michigan discharge toxic coal ash or wastewater.


The report, “Closing the Floodgates: How the Coal Industry Is Poisoning Our Water and How We Can Stop It” reviewed water permits for 386 coal plants across the country, and sought to identify whether states have upheld the Clean Water Act by effectively protecting families from toxic water pollution.

The analysis found:

-Of the 274 coal plants that discharge coal ash and scrubber wastewater into waterways nationwide, at least 16 were in Michigan. Worse, only three of these plants even reports how much toxic arsenic and selenium they are discharging in the EPA’s Toxics Release inventory. Those three that do report alone discharged almost 6,000 pounds of arsenic and selenium in one year, according to the Inventory.

-Only eight of Michigan’s active coal plants have permits which limit dumping of any toxic metal, and none of the permits limit arsenic, cadmium, or lead. DTE’s River Rouge Plant, which the NAACP has identified as one of the worst environmental justice offenders in the nation lacks such limits.

-Ten plants are dumping their wastes into water bodies which have been formally designated as having impaired water quality, which includes mercury contamination and active coal power plants are among the largest sources of this toxic pollutant.

“This report makes it clear that DTE needs a lesson in common sense: dumping poisons into our water without disclosing threatens the health, drinking water and recreation opportunities in Detroit,” said Patrick Geans, Sierra Club Michigan Beyond Coal organizer. “Environmental Protection Agency limits on these toxics in our water will prevent children from getting sick, ensure our water is safe to drink and our fish safe to eat, and save lives.”

Existing guidelines written to limit toxics discharged from coal plants do not cover many of the worst pollutants such as those discharged in Michigan rivers and streams, and have not been updated in more than 30 years. In April 2013 the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first ever national standards for toxics dumped into waterways from coal plants.

The Sierra Club’s Michigan Beyond Coal campaign is organizing to support the strongest options for these “effluent limitation guidelines” that will limit the amount of toxic chemicals that are dumped into our waterways.  These standards will also require all coal plants to monitor and report the amount of toxics dumped into our water, giving us detailed information for the first time about the types and amounts of dangerous chemicals in our water.

The new report’s nationwide findings were similarly shocking:

●      Of the 274 coal plants that discharge coal ash and scrubber wastewater into waterways, nearly 70 percent (188) have no limits on the amounts of toxic metals like arsenic, boron, cadmium, mercury, and selenium they are allowed to dump into public waters.

●      Of these 274 coal plants, more than one-third (103) have no requirements to monitor or report discharges of toxic metals like arsenic, boron, cadmium, mercury, and selenium to federal authorities.

●      A total of 71 coal plants discharge toxic water pollution into waterways that have already been declared as impaired. Of these plants that are dumping toxic metals into impaired waterways, nearly three out of four coal plants (53) had no permit that limited the amount of toxic metals it could dump.

●      More than half of the 274 coal plants plants surveyed (144) are operating with an expired Clean Water Act permit. 53 of these power plants are operating with permits that expired five or more years ago.

The new report also reviewed red-line copies of the EPA’s proposed coal plant water pollution standards or “effluent limitation guidelines” obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, finding that the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) caved to coal industry pressure and took the highly unusual and improper step of writing new weak options into the draft guidelines prepared by the EPA’s expert staff.

Sierra Club Praises House Democrats for Proposing Safeguards on Fracking

LANSING – The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, an environmentally-concerned citizens group, today praised a package of bills proposed by Democratic representatives in the state House that will be the first significant legislative initiatives to deal with the growing dangers of fracking. Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is a controversial process for extracting natural gas that puts Michigan’s fresh water at risk.

“We welcome this package of bills which provides tools for stronger public involvement and accountability by the oil and gas industry,” said Nancy Shiffler, Co-Chair of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter’s Beyond Natural Gas and Oil Campaign.  “This is a first, important step toward addressing a range of threats to Michigan’s waters posed by risky, loosely regulated drilling.”

The bills in this package will help protect Michigan’s communities and water by requiring public participation in permit decisions, disclosure of chemicals used in fracking fluid, and the means to hold oil and gas companies accountable for their pollution.

The Sierra Club also believes that lawmakers must go beyond the proposals announced today and stop all fracking activity until comprehensive regulations and other measures are adopted to protect Michigan’s air, water and public health.  Michigan citizens and communities are currently vulnerable to serious injury from fracking activities that now take place in Michigan.

The Sierra Club looks forward to working with lawmakers responsible for these important proposals and any others who are interested in protecting Michigan’s air, water and public health from the dangers of fracking.

The Sierra Club is the nation’s largest most effective grassroots environmental organization, with over 150,000 members and supporters in Michigan.

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Sierra Club Offers Ways to Explore, Enjoy, Protect Environment in Traverse City Region

Public Invited to July 17 Organizing Meeting at TADL; July 21 Outing at Sand Lake Quiet Area

People who enjoy the outdoors or are concerned about the quality of their water, air and natural resources or their family’s health are invited to join a conversation about local environmental issues at a Sierra Club organizing meeting Wed., July 17, at 7 pm at the Traverse Area District Library, McGuire Room, 610 Woodmere, Traverse City. The event is free and open to the public.

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter staff and volunteer leaders will explore ways that local residents can get involved in the effort to protect the area’s great natural heritage through outings, legislative and political efforts and educational programs. The event will also offer the chance for people with common interests and concerns to enjoy refreshments and good conversation.

“Sierra Club has been involved in northwest Michigan for nearly five decades, since local residents mobilized to protect Sleeping Bear Dunes back in the ‘60s,” said Gail Philbin, Chapter assistant director. “The area has a strong tradition of active citizens who will fight to protect the environment but who also enjoy and engage in it through hiking, fishing and other outdoor activities. We hope they will come to this meeting and find out how we can work together.”

To RSVP for this event, email gail.philbin@sierraclub.org or call 312-493-2384.

On Sunday, July 21, at Noon, the Sierra Club will also host a hike at Sand Lake Quiet Area, a place of deep forests, lakes and wetlands where all motorized vehicles are prohibited. The event is free and open to the public. The 2-3 hour trek will wind through a serene portion of the Pere Marquette State Forest with five lakes surrounded by rolling hills of oak-pine forest.  To RSVP and for details, contact Lorne Beatty, Michigan Chapter Outings Leader, lorne.beatty@michigan.sierraclub.org or 810-632-7766.

Sierra Club Michigan Statement on President Obama’s Climate Plan

For Immediate Release
June 25, 2013

Contact:  Emily Rosenwasser, Emily.Rosenwasser@sierraclub.org, 312-251-1680 x119

Sierra Club Michigan Statement on President Obama’s Climate Plan

Washington, D.C. –  Today President Barack Obama announced his administration's next steps for building a legacy of action to fight the climate crisis. The plan includes new energy efficiency standards for federal buildings and appliances, scales up responsible clean energy production on public lands with an ambitious new commitment to power 6 million homes by 2020, and uses the full authority of the Clean Air Act to cut dangerous carbon pollution from power plants.

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Director Anne Woiwode released the following statement in response:

"This is the change Michiganders have been waiting for on climate.

“President Obama is finally putting action behind his words, which is exactly what the Sierra Club, our 2.1 million members and supporters, and coalition partners have worked hard to achieve. Today, we applaud him for taking a giant step forward toward meeting that goal.

"By committing to establish new energy efficiency standards for federal buildings and appliances, scale up responsible clean energy production on public lands with an ambitious new goal to power 6 million homes by 2020, and use the full authority of the Clean Air Act to cut dangerous carbon pollution from power plants, the President is stepping up to reduce the climate-disrupting pollution that is destabilizing our climate while threatening our economy and endangering our communities and families with extreme weather and dramatic sea level increases.

"Here in the heart of the Great Lakes, Michiganders are looking forward to the day when the Administration sees fracked gas and tar sands in massive pipelines across our state for what they are - fossil fuels of the past, and a threat to Pure Michigan and public health. Nevertheless, the President's plan gives us hope he will cement his climate legacy and protect future generations by ending destructive oil drilling in the Arctic, rejecting dangerous nukes, halting mountaintop removal, abandoning dirty fossil fuels in favor of clean energy - and by making the critically important decision to reject the dirty and dangerous Keystone XL pipeline."

Sierra Club Hosts Free Screening of The Sky is Pink in Traverse City

Event at Library Focuses on Fracking and Other Issues in Region

Media Contact: Gail Philbin, gail.philbin@sierraclub.org

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter presents a screening of The Sky is Pink, a short film about the controversial method of natural gas extraction known as fracking, Wed., June 26, at 7 pm at the Traverse Area District Library, McGuire Room, 610 Woodmere, Traverse City. The event is free and open to the public.

Grand Traverse-area residents concerned about the quality of their water, air and natural resources are invited to the screening, which will be followed by a discussion of important regional environmental, legislative and political issues. Sierra Club staff and volunteer leaders will present opportunities for concerned citizens to get involved in environmental protection efforts in northwest Michigan.

To RSVP, email William Strong at williamstrong@sbcglobal.net or call 269-372-3642.

The Sky is Pink is an 18-minute documentary by Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated director of Gasland, about New York state’s urgent crisis of drilling and fracking, a brutal method of extracting deep-seated natural gas that recently has come to northwest Michigan.  Exempt from environmental regulations, fracking blasts 3-7 million gallons of chemical-laced water into rock to release gas.  The result is air pollution and toxic water wells that can produce flaming faucets, as shown in Gasland, and even earthquakes.

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter has been working with legislators on a package of bills to delay its actual practice in order to strengthen regulations to protect people from the fallout of this dangerous process. Learn more at www.michigan.sierraclub.org/issues/greatlakes/Hydrofracking.html

For more information about this event, email williamstrong@sbcglobal.net or call 269-372-3642.