Public hearing process begins in Rogers City by DEQ for Wolverine power plant
by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor
When the public hearing process begins October 1 for the proposed power plant in Rogers Township, it will be the first of four in the works for the state. First out of the shoot from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc?s. proposed installation of a 600-megawatt (MW) coal-fired steam electric power plant. The plant will be located within the confines of the Calcite limestone quarry. Wolverine officials are encouraged that their permit application is being heard first. ?I think we are very encouraged that the DEQ has confirmed the status of the draft permit, going out for public comment this week, from a couple of perspectives. There are four permits in front of the DEQ as we speak today: Wolverine, the City of Holland, LS Power and Consumers Energy. Two of those four were filed before ours,? said Wolverine executive vice president Craig Borr.
?Our permit is now ahead of both of those. I think that is a great testament to our team and the quality of the permit. We are very encouraged by that.? Since applying for the air quality permit in September of last year, Wolverine?s team of engineers has been in constant contact with the Air Quality Division of the DEQ. Senior project engineer Melissa Byrnes of the AQD is lead reviewer of the project. ?I think it does speak to the quality of the relationship we have with the agency and how responsive and productive our team has been as far as working with them. I think they will tell you that we have been very diligent in terms of meeting their hundreds of informational requests and dialogue on permits,? Borr said.
?I think we know it will be a difficult process as we move forward. The opposition will be significant, but we also have a great deal of resources that we have committed to this project and we are proud of what we have done.?
The schedule of meetings has been confirmed this week and the details are spelled out in a public notice on page 8A of the Advance.
?The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has announced a 60-day public comment period on the draft permit conditions, as required by state requirements and Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 51.161. The public comment period is to solicit written comments prior to making a final decision on the permit application,? Byrnes said.
Written comments received during the comment period will be considered in the final permit decision and must be received by November 24, 2008, to Ms. Mary Ann Dolehanty, acting permit section supervisor, MDEQ, Air Quality Division, P.O. Box 30260, Lansing, Michigan, 48909-7760. According to Byrnes, comments may also be submitted from the webpage http://www.deq.state.mi.us/aps/cwerp.shtml (click on ?Submit Comment? under the Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc. PTI No. 317-07 listing).
On October 1, an informational session in panel format will be held from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the Rogers City High School Gymnasium. During this Informational Session, staff will be available to provide information and answer questions about the proposed installation of a 600-megawatt coal-fired steam electric power plant.
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?The sole purpose of the hearing will be to take formal testimony on the record. During testimony, questions will not be answered; however, staff will be available to answer questions outside the hearing room. After resolving any issues raised during the public comment period and the hearing, a final decision will be made on the permit application,? Byrnes said.