DEQ spells out details of permitting process: Wolverine one of four to apply for air permit
by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor
The public will soon have a chance to comment on Wolverine Power Supply?s Clean Energy Venture ,which included two components, one being the proposed construction of a coal-fired power plant in Rogers Township. The Air Quality Division (AQD) of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will extend its public comment period from the usual 30 days to 60 days to get input from each of the four communities where coal-fired power plants are proposed. Details of the plan were revealed at a meeting in Lansing last week attended by engineers from the DEQ, representatives from the power plants and interested citizens. The four sites include a 930 megawatt (MW) facility proposed by Consumers Energy in Essexville; Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative?s 600 MW power plant in Rogers Township; a 750 MW plant proposed by Mid-Michigan Energy for Midland; and a 78 MW plant proposed by the Holland Board of Public Works for downtown Holland.
No dates have been set for local public input, but are likely to be set in the next two months. Last week in Lansing, DEQ officials spelled out in detail the permitting process for large facilities and the function of the agency in a nearly four hour meeting. Various engineers and administrators told about the responsibilities of the agency and what they have no jurisdiction over. Specifically, the Air Quality Division (AQD), one of seven divisions of the DEQ, has authority over air permit requests. ?The main mission of the AQD is to make sure that Michigan?s air meets the national air quality standards and that sources of air emissions, both big and small, do not contain air contaminants that pose a risk to humans or the environment,? said Jim Ostrowski, an engineer in the environmental assistance program of the DEQ. The AQD has divisions devoted to field operations, to conduct inspections and determine compliance; enforcement; evaluation; and permitting.
?Three main things are reviewed when we receive a permit application,? Ostrowski said. Those are proposed emissions, proposed control technology, and impacts to public health and the environment. The entire process is ?open and transparent? he said, with ample opportunities for public comment and input. Ostrowski spelled out what is not reviewed as a part of the DEQ permitting process. That list included zoning restrictions, site selections, traffic patterns (except for dust created), light, noise, consumer demand, product need and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
?It doesn?t mean that they are not reviewed. It just means that maybe a different agency reviews them,? Ostrowski said. As for CO2 emissions, Ostrowski said there are no rules or standards to regulate the gas. State and federal standards list the potential pollutants to be regulated, a list of 187 hazardous air pollutants and CO2 emissions is not among those listed. Last year Governor Jennifer Granholm established the Michigan Climate Action Council to identify strategies the state should adopt to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. Each of the proposed plants are under the laws, which are in effect at the time of the application.
The Permit Process
Mary Ann Dolehanty, of the AQD permit section, walked the audience through the permit process, specifically a Permit to Install (PTI) for a major facility. The first step is the administrative and technical completeness check to assure that all the components are provided so the DEQ can begin its review.
?This is not the step that we check to make sure all of the information provided to us is accurate and complete. This is the step to make sure those pieces have been submitted so we can begin our review,? Dolehanty said. The ?heart and meat? of the process, Dolehanty said, occurs next with the technical review of the application. The permit reviewers first look at the type, size and location of the source of the emissions. The proposed emissions listed on the application are recalculated to be sure they are within state and federal requirements, using established scientific standards. Third on the permit review process is the development of draft permit conditions taking into account all of the rules and regulations set by state and federal standards.
?This is a coordinated effort between the AQD staff,? Dolehanty said, pulling together the efforts of toxicologists, modelers, field personnel, testing staff and engineers. The results of the effort are shared with the applicant. The fourth phase of the permitting process is public participation, which is a requirement of federal law, Dolehanty said. A fact sheet on the project will be available, she said, and notice of the public input sessions will be published in a local newspaper, on the DEQ Web site, and mailed to interested parties.
The public input for the coal-fired plants will be 60 days instead of the customary 30 days, because the DEQ wants to give as many people as possible time to have their say. The AQD will use two different formats for public participation. An informational session set for approximately 20 days into the comment period will feature a panel discussion with DEQ staff answering questions from the audience. A moderator will oversee the session. There will be no public hearing associated with this session and no oral public comments will be accepted.
The second public session will be an open-house style set one-hour before the local public hearing. The local public hearings will be conducted locally (in Rogers City) about 40 days into the public hearing process. On the first day of the hearing there will be an open-house discussion at 5 p.m. followed by a public hearing accepting oral testimony from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. The second day will include opportunities for oral testimony from noon until 3 p.m. and again from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. These hearings will be recorded. ?Once public participation has been completed we move into the decision making mode,? Dolehanty said. ?As part of the decision making process AQD will review any comments received and if those comments warrant additional or further review we will do that in the decision making process.? A response and comment document will be prepared and made public.
At this point the application can be approved, approved with modifications or denied. It will be approved if it meets all state and federal requirements and denied if it does not. Notice of the decision is provided to the public at this point. Each of the four proposed coal-fired power plants have an AQD engineer assigned as its permit reviewer. Melissa Byrnes will handle the Wolverine plant while Dave Riddle is assigned to the Consumer?s Energy project. John Vial will serve as permit reviewer for both the Holland plant and the Mid-Michigan project at Midland.
Health assessment by DEQ
Risk assessment is done on a list of ?criteria pollutants? including ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. AQD Toxicologist specialist Robert Sills said the federal Environmental Protection Agency has established national ?ambient air quality standards? designed to protect the public health.
Sills talked about types of air contaminants, how the AQD applies screening levels for air toxins, deposition and oral exposure assessments for mercury and lead. He said these assessments would ensure that the permit conditions would be safe for the public health.
Wolverine?s project
Byrnes, the reviewing engineer for the Wolverine project gave a summary from the application submitted last September.
?This new plant is proposed to be constructed in the quarry south of Rogers City and will generate about 600 MW of electricity. This is enough electricity to power 423,000 homes,? Byrnes said. There will be two 300 MW fuel boilers with circulating fluidized bed (CFB) design. ?This type of solid boiler design is capable of utilizing a wide range of solid fuels, plus provide good combustion efficiency,? Byrnes said. The CFB design, she said, utilizes the principle where fuel and limestone are crushed and injected into the furnace and circulated. The process allows complete combustion of the fuel, lowering nitrogen dioxides and sulfur dioxides in the furnace.
Fuels to be used, according to the application, are Powder River Basin coal, drawn from the coal-rich area of northeast Wymoning, with a blend of up to 70 percent petroleum coke, and 20 percent biomass. By contrast, the Consumers Energy project lists its fuel as sub-bituminous coal with a secondary source of a blend of eastern bituminous coal. The Mid-Michigan project plans to use Powder River Basin coal, and biomass as well as natural gas. The Holland project lists a combination of coal, coke, sewage sludge, tires and wood waste.
A fabric filter system and a polishing scrubber will control emissions into the air, Byrnes said.
Timeline for decision
?The average time for a permit right now is running at about 70 days,? Dolehanty said. ?But these applications for power plants have been in house as long as a year and one-half.? Wolverine submitted its air permit application September 26 of last year. Consumers Energy submitted its application October 15, Mid-Michigan turn
?The timing isn?t as much of an issue to us as it is to the companies. What we are looking to do is provide a sound decision that takes into account compliance with all state and federal regulations. These projects are still under review right now. We are nearing the end of our technical assessment,? Dolehanty said. The public comment period should begin in the next few months, she said, followed by additional review, which could take weeks or months, depending on comments received on each project.
(For more information on the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture, the other three applications and more on the DEQ, see the DEQ Web site at www.deq.state.mi.us.)