Main Concerns

Public Health
Environment
Economic Impact

Coal is one of the most polluting sources of energy available, jeopardizing our health, environment and economy. Mining and burning coal scars lungs, tears up the land, pollutes water, devastates communities and makes global warming worse. 1

Claims of "clean coal" are misleading, serving more as a marketing tool than as an honest change of dirty practices by the coal industry. 1

Accelerating amounts of carbon Dioxide (CO2) are entering the atmosphere. 2 Coal plants produce one-third of America's CO2 emissions - about the same amount as all our cars, SUVs, trucks, buses, planes, ships, and trains combined. 3

There are no regulations in Presque Isle County, the State of Michigan, or the U.S. government on the emissions of CO2, the major pollution driving global warming.

We believe in the advancement of Wind, Solar, and Energy Conservation. This would stimulate our local economy, promote more jobs and vastly minimize CO2 and many other pollutants so devastating to our health, wealth and environment. 4

WHAT IS AT STAKE
Our Health
From smog to mercury to carbon dioxide, coal-fired power plants are one of the largest sources of air pollution in the U.S. The consequences for human health are staggering, especially with regards to particle pollution, one of the most dangerous - and deadly - types of air pollution in our country. Particle pollution, also known as soot, can be released directly from smokestacks or indirectly with other pollutants like sulfur dioxide (SO2) that form tiny particles. Soot is particularly dangerous because it can be inhaled deep into the lungs where the smallest of particles enter into the blood stream just like oxygen. Soot can trigger heart attacks and strokes, worsen asthma, cause irregular heart beat, and lead to
premature death. 1,5

The damages from particle pollution continue after it has settled to the ground. There it causes acidification of waters, soil nutrient depletion, and destruction of forests and crops. Smog causes a wide range of symptoms like shortness of breath, increased risk of asthma attacks, permanent lung damage, and premature death. In addition to its health effects, smog damages the
environment and can destroy entire ecosystems. 1,5

The following is a partial list of the pollutants that come from coal burning:
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Chromium
Hydrogen Chloride
Nitrous Oxide (NOX)
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
PM10
Hydrogen Fluoride
Volatile Organic Compounds
Lead
Mercury
Arsenic
Borate
1,5,6

After pollution controls are installed the proposed 600MW plant would still emit more than 8,000 tons of pollutants per year through stack emissions. 7

Health Consequences linked to Coal Burning Power Plants:

Asthma
Shortness of Breath
Permanent Lung Damage
Irregular Heartbeats
Heart Attacks
Strokes
Organ Disease
Lung Cancer
Brain Damage
Developmental Problems in both unborn Children and Infants
Loss of IQ in children
Mental Retardation
Premature Death 1,5,8

Mercury is an extremely toxic by-product of burning coal. One seventieth of a teaspoon can pollute a 25 acre lake. 9 Mercury stays in the environment, builds up, and recycles causing damage to fish, mammals, amphibians, birds and plants. 10,15 Coal burning power plants are directly linked to mental retardation and increased numbers of children losing IQ points every year. 8

The need to protect our water resources is crucial. The vast water aquifers beneath Presque Isle and Alpena counties are at risk of mercury pollution. The karst limestone formations holding our water fracture, shift, and collapse unexpectedly. This changes sometimes very rapidly, water volume, direction and velocity of flow in unknown patterns. Toxic pollution in a fragile and complex water system such as ours is a real risk. The siting of a coal-fired power plant in Rogers City's karst limestone quarry may endanger a whole region of people. 11

Our Economy
Financial Risks come in many forms. Presque Isle Electric and Gas has signed a 35 year contract with Wolverine. Its co-op members will be locked into very high rates to fund the power plant. The financial burden will be on members even if the plant fails or has to close. Coming regulations on carbon, newer and cheaper technology without coal, will make this plant obsolete in the nearfuture. In the meantime escalating construction costs, increasing fuel costs and the future cost of carbon, will be paid by co-op members. 12,4,13

An alternative investment for Presque Isle County would be the advancement of wind, solar and energy conservation. This would stimulate our local economy, create more jobs, and vastly minimize CO2 and other pollutants so devastating to our health, wealth and environment. 4,13

Loss in Tourism Revenues Presque Isle County’s geographic location, bordering Lake Huron, and its abundant inland lakes and rivers make tourism potentially limitless. The existence of a major coal burning power plant would change the local landscape to one with smokestacks, smog, coal dust, dirty houses, power lines, constant trucking, and the deterioration of roads. All of these factors may discourage future travelers from visiting our area. 1 The impact of mercury in our area, on both commercial and recreational fishing, is also worthy of serious consideration. 14,15

Footnotes:
1."The Dirty Truth about Coal - Why Yesterday's Technology Should Not Be Part of Tomorrow's Energy Future" - Sierra Club 2007
2. "Researchers Say CO2 Emissions Accelerating" - USA Today, Oct. 23, 2007 (Carnegie Institute, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Proceedings from National Academy of Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Lab)
3. "Gambling With Coal - How Future Climate Laws Will Make New Coal Power Plants More Expensive" Sept. 2006 - Union of Concerned Scientists
4. "Energizing Michigan's Economy, Creating Jobs and Reducing Pollution With Energy Efficiency and Renewable Electric Power" Travis Madsen, Timothy Telleen-Lawton, Mike Schriberg, February 2007 - Environment Michigan Research and Policy Center
5. "Don't Let Coal Choke Our Future" - Sierra Club, January 2008
6. "Fluoride Emissions from Coal Burning Power Plants" - Fluoride Action Network, April 2008
7. Wolverine Power's permit application to the Michigan DEQ, Air Quality Division, January 2008
8."Mental Retardation and Prenatal Methyl Mercury Toxicity," American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2006; Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, Clyde B. Schechter, MD, MA, Karla A. Haynes, RN, MPH, and Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc "Public Health and Economic Consequences of Methyl Mercury Toxicity to the Developing Brain," - Environmental Health Perspectives, Children's Health May 2005; Leonardo Trasande MD, MPP, Philip Landrigan, MD, MSc, and Clyde Schechter, MD, MA
"The National Children's Study: A 21 Year Perspective Study of 100,000 American Children," - Pediatrics, November 2006
9. "Environmental Impacts of Coal Power: Air Pollution" - Union of Concerned Scientists www.ucsusa.org 2008
10. "Mercury Rising" September 11, 2006 - Time Magazine
11. http://www.gem.msu.edu/casestd/karst.html
12. Presque Isle Electric and Gas Coop Annual Membership meeting, September 2007
13. "Environment, Health, Jobs and Justice - Who Gets to Decide?" - Rachel's Democracy & Health News, January 2008 - New Energy Articles
14. Michigan DEQ Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program Online Database - Presque Isle and Alpena County - Great Lakes, inland lakes and rivers methyl mercury ppm levels
15. "Mercury Matters - Linking Mercury Science with Public Policy in the Northeastern United States" - Science Links Publication Vol. 1. no. 3. Hubbard Brook Research Foundation 2007

In The News

CEI Sues the DEQ
DEQ must follow the law says CEI lawsuit. read the full complaint

Minority Report

Here you can read the Minority Report written by Thomas Harkleroad and Byron DeLong, both Members of Presque Isle County Planning Commission.

Click Here to read the report.