Mayor Hall, Rep. Neumann push governor for decision on permit

With no decision on Wolverine Power?s air quality permit in sight, State Rep. Andy Neumann (D-Alpena) and Rogers City mayor Beach Hall each asked Gov. Jennifer Granholm to speed up the process. Each encouraged the governor to speed up the process to grant Wolverine a positive response on its major permit needed, the air quality permit.

Neumann demanded a stop in the continued delay of the coal-fired power plant in Rogers City. The Rogers City facility, proposed by Wolverine Power Cooperative, would create nearly 2,000 jobs for northern Michigan workers. Wolverine applied for the air quality permit Sept. 26, 2007, some 867 days ago.

?I AM disappointed that Michigan continues to lag behind,? Neumann said. ?At the State of the Union, our president identified clean coal as a power source for the 21st century economy, and both parties rose to their feet and cheered. This is not a partisan issue. This plant is an investment in a better future; yet Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and her administration in Lansing are putting off making a decision on this $2 billion investment, further delaying northeast Michigan?s turnaround.? Neumann called the proposed Wolverine plant ?cleaner and more efficient than nearly any other plant in Michigan, if not the world.?

?It is well past time that Michigan becomes a leader in the 21st century economy. We can no longer wait for the overwhelming tide of progress to sweep us up and carry us out of the recession, if we wait that long surely we will be left behind and our state and our region may never fully recover,? Neumann said. MAYOR HALL, a strong supporter of Wolverine?s project since the May 2006 announcement of the project, received a letter from the governor in answer to his letters. It stated neither the governor?s support nor opposition to the project and offered little insight to when or if a permit might be granted. ?I know what the prospect of this plant means to job creation in your community. Please know that both policy advisors within my office and their expert counterparts at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment are absolutely committed to diligently reviewing all aspects of this proposal,? the governor told Hall. ?Though I understand the urgency of your request, I ask that you continue to wait patiently as the permitting process continues.?

Wolverine Power plans to build a 600-megawatt Clean Energy Venture power plant that would use cutting-edge clean energy technology ? carbon capture and sequestration ? to make it one of the cleanest coal plants in the world. Construction of the facility would create 1,800 jobs for workers and an additional 100 employees would be hired to operate the plant. The plant has already received a $2.7 million grant from the United States Department of Energy for phase one of the project but cannot move forward without approval from t

he state.

NEUMANN POINTED out that the Rogers City plant has faced several delays already. Gov. Granholm ordered the air permit process be put on hold, and last January she instructed the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to deny air emissions permits for coal-fired plants if “feasible and prudent alternatives” exist. In December, the DEQ announced approval of a permit for a Consumer?s Energy coal-fired plant near Essexville. ?It?s about time that Michigan workers got back to work, this power plant will put nearly 2,000 Michiganders anxious for employment back to work,? Neumann said.

?Not only will it bring jobs to the area, Wolverine Power?s coal-fired plant will also bring millions of new dollars to the state in revenue each year. As the governor plans to address the Legislature and discuss ways to make Michigan?s government more efficient, I will offer up one suggestion right now ? tell the bureaucrats to stop blocking permit approval for the Rogers City power plant and let Wolverine Power begin putting northeast Michigan back to work.? Neumann, who is term-limited as a state representative, announced last month he would seek election to the 36th state senate seat, which does not include Presque Isle County. Hall is in his fifth term as mayor of Rogers City.

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