July 29, 2010
Shannon Jones/Bay Mills News
KINCHELOE — At a meeting designed to gather public comment regarding Frontier Renewable Resources application for an air pollution permit for a cellulosic ethanol plant, Department of Environmental Quality officials bit off more than they could chew. The audience’s tone of the night could be summed up by one woman’s comment: “We want better answers."
The meeting, held at Kinross Township Hall on July 28, packed the room with concerned residents, environmentalists and jobseekers. While the purpose was to gather comment about air quality concerns, the majority of those in attendance said they believed environmental concerns as a whole were being ignored.
For the first hour residents were allowed to ask questions of the DEQ panel about the project prior to the formal hearing being held where comments would go on the record. Sault Ste. Marie resident Carl Meyer spoke up first, saying he was concerned about forest management as the plant is expected to need a massive amount of wood products to be operational. Meyer’s worries stem from a concern that with less trees in the area, pollution will increase. He said he hasn’t seen anywhere that the company will be replanting trees and wanted to know if some kind of forest management plan would be put in place.
But Meyer didn’t get the response he was looking for.
“This isn’t relevant to the air quality permit,” said meeting chair Andy Drury of DEQ Air Quality, a comment that set off a wave of criticisms in the crowd, and was a popular response from the panel throughout the evening.
Dennis Nezich of forestry management went on to explain to Meyer that the sustainable forestry act will still be in place and has “good checks and balances.”
Another issue of concern raised by residents was the amount of water the proposed plant will use. The Kinross Township system will be providing the 200 gallons of water per minute to operate. Drury advised residents to speak with their township board about the concern.
Concerns related to the permit itself were vaguely addressed by the panel. One by one residents said they felt the area was vulnerable due the population of elderly and children already with breathing disorders. One local health practitioner said he had concerns about mold growth considering the wood would be processed with water. Mold and fungus, he reiterated, “are an air pollution issue.” Drury said there is no regulation that specifically addresses mold and if that were to happen it would have to be directly linked back to the source before anything could be done.
What residents were glad to hear is that, while the permit must adhere to state and federal regulations, it cannot supercede township regulations. In other words, township officials are permitted to regulate the air more strictly than the government.
Concerns from residents are warranted as there is no current cellulosic ethanol plant in operation of a similar nature. Frontier does have a protype plant it is using to gather data from in New York, but that data relates to the use of corn processing, not wood. And the DEQ has admitted they have not seen the actual results from the prototype tests.
“You mean to tell me we may go ahead without knowing what the consequences are?” inquired Sault resident Diane Meyer.
Drury said testing must be done within 180 days of the time operations begin, and from that point would be done likely every five years, by their own resources. Drury said the DEQ would not be testing the site itself because of a lack of manpower and money.
And current data that the state uses to determine what is safe in the air and what is not, isn’t derived from the general population; it comes from animal data, a point that didn’t sit well with the crowd.
“You mean to tell me we’re lab rats?” one woman inquired.
During the formal comment period, residents continued to speak up, both for and against the project. Environmental concerns were raised on numerous occasions, and officials from the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan said they would like to see additional data gathered on the impact to the Native population. Kinross is home to a large housing division owned and operated by Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians. ITC officials noted that Native children already experience a higher incidence of asthma and they are concerned about the impact more pollution will have. Just last week, Chippewa-Ottawa Resource Authority, the inter-tribal regulatory authority for tribes in the 1836 treaty-ceded area passed a resolution against the Mascoma plant.
Brimley resident Pat Egan also spoke up about the impact the project could have on the lakes and soil. He noted that a majority of Frontier’s funding is coming from grant sources and wanted to know what would happen when the money ran out. The company has already received more than $100 million from New York, Michigan, the state and federal governments, along with being tax-free for the next 12 years.
“Will they have the financial capability to sustain an air quality system and what if it breaks?” he asked.
Those in support of the project were anxious to see the permit cleared through the DEQ in hopes of employment. Various logging and trucking officials said the plant would be vital to breathing life back into their industry, pointing out the closure of paper plants in Gaylord and Muskegon over the last few years.
“If Kinross doesn’t want this, Newberry will take it,” said Bob Zellar of Zellar Bark and Trucking.
The Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation also stands behind the proposed project as does the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council.
Their representatives said they would like to see the project put U.P. residents to work. The plant is expected to employ 50 full-time employees, create 150 construction jobs, and have a spin-off effect of more than 500 jobs in manufacturing , agriculture and forestry.
The result from the hearing is pending. The DEQ could choose to deny, modify or approve the permit as drafted. Once a decision is made, those in attendance will be informed, as well as the general public.
