Legalectric

A win without justice… Kandiyohi’s Midtown Burner is dead — at the Phillips site. That’s a very good thing. But there’s bad news too — it appears a deal was struck and that it may rear its ugly head somewhere else in Minneapolis, SE Minneapolis to be precise. Kandiyohi better not even think about it. That’s one outcome that is not acceptable.

One aspect of the “victory” is legislation about an important issue, analysis of cumulative impacts of a project. This is a statewide issue, as evidenced in the MSI and PolyMet permitting on the Range. In this case, however, language requiring analysis of cumulative impacts of proposed facilities was crafted into language so narrow that only the Kandiyohi Midtown Burner would be affected. The quote from Rep. Karen Clark in the STrib said:

“We’re happy that it’s not going to be in the Phillips neighborhood,” said state Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, who helped pass the law requiring study of cumulative pollution in the area. “We’re not taking a position on where it should go.”

How about just saying NO! “Not taking a position on where it should go” but authoring legislation saying anywhere but here… What about impacts of the very real pollutants spewing from an incinerator ANYWHERE? What’s wrong with this picture? Another community in Minneapolis may have been targeted.

Here’s the language of the bill, now SF 3056, Sec. 34, or Chapter 357:

The agency may not issue a permit to a facility without analyzing and considering the cumulative levels and effects of past and current environmental pollution from all sources on the environment and residents of the geographic area within which the facility’s emissions are likely to be deposited, provided that the facility is located in a community in a city of the first class in Hennepin County that meets all of the following conditions:
(1) is within a half mile of a site designated by the federal government as an EPA superfund site due to residential arsenic contamination;
(2) a majority of the population are low-income persons of color and American
(3) a disproportionate percent of the children have childhood lead poisoning, asthma, or other environmentally related health problems;
(4) is located in a city that has experienced numerous air quality alert days of dangerous air quality for sensitive populations between February 2007 and February 2008; and
(5) is located near the junctions of several heavily trafficked state and county highways and two one-way streets which carry both truck and auto traffic.

And we know that Kandiyohi Development Partners will do just about anything to keep this afloat, but if, indeed, “the firm did suggest the South East Industrial Area between the Prospect Park and Como neighborhoods as one possible site,” get ready for another round!

I wonder what the SE Como Neighborhood Improvement Association thinks of this idea?

Here’s the STrib report:

No burner in Phillips neighborhood
The developer of a proposed wood-burning power plant says it gave up on the Minneapolis site in exchange for city help in locating another renewable energy facility.

By STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune

June 6, 2008

The developer of a proposed wood-burning power plant in the Phillips area of south Minneapolis announced Friday that it is dropping efforts to build it on a city-owned site.

Kandiyohi Development Partners said that it was taking that step in light of city promises to help find another site for an unspecified renewable energy facility.

The announcement was a victory for the activists from the Hiawatha-Lake area who had fought the plant on the grounds that the area already had too much pollution. It also recognized the barriers posed by recent legislation requiring added studies before a state permit could be issued for that site, as well as the city’s move to cancel its sale of the land.

The developer met Thursday with Council Members Gary Schiff and Scott Benson, but Schiff said no explicit commitment was made to help Kandiyohi find another site for producing power.

However, he said the firm did suggest the South East Industrial Area between the Prospect Park and Como neighborhoods as one possible site. Another generating facility has been proposed near there to supply power to the Rock-Tenn paper recycling facility in St. Paul.

Kandiyohi said that with more than $2 million invested in planning for the electrical and steam-producing generator, it deserved more clarity early in the project from the state and city, especially regarding environmental challenges in the Phillips area. Among the investors is Council Member Lisa Goodman, a friend of Kandiyohi’s principals.

“We’re happy that it’s not going to be in the Phillips neighborhood,” said state Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, who helped pass the law requiring study of cumulative pollution in the area. “We’re not taking a position on where it should go.”

Schiff said Kandiyohi expressed an interest in avoiding areas with the high childhood asthma rates that plague Phillips and other areas of high poverty.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438

Here’s an article with a quote that says to me that they were having trouble at the MPCA — from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal:

Friday, June 6, 2008 – 5:12 PM CDT

Kandiyohi axes plan for wood-fuel plant in South Minneapolis

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal – by Sam Black Staff Writer

Kandiyohi Development Partners has scrapped plans for a new $80 million energy facility in South Minneapolis, but it isn’t giving up on finding another location in the city.

In response to an RFP by the City of Minneapolis, Kandiyohi had pitched a plan to build a renewable energy facility that would be called Midtown Eco Energy at the site of a garbage transfer station in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis.

The facility would have reused a former city incinerator at Hiawatha Avenue and Lake Street that closed in the 1970s.

Today the Minneapolis-based firm pulled the plug on its plans due to “concerns raised by the Phillips community regarding the impacts of decades of environmental and land use policies of the City and the (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) on air and land pollution,” Kandiyohi said in a statement.

The project had come under fire by some residents in the neighborhood and lost the support of some members of the city council in recent weeks as Kandiyohi approached a March 31 deadline to complete its purchase of city land.

The project became a political hot potato when it was reported that investors in the deal included former DFL activist Michael Krause and Kim Havey, a former city official who ran the city’s Empowerment Zone office. Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman is also an investor in Kandiyohi, although she didn’t vote on the project when it came before the city council in 2006.

Kandiyohi has already invested more than $2 million in the project, which would have burned clean wood wastes and some agricultural byproducts.

Kandiyohi plans to look for an alternative site for a renewable energy facility that would add “green collar” jobs and renewable energy to the city.

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Thanks to John Blair for sending around this head up about the coal gasification plant at Wabash River … more as it appears. Looks like a gasifier blew. This one has a video too:

Explosion at SG Solutions in Terre Haute

Posted: April 28, 2008 10:21 AM

Updated: April 28, 2008 05:14 PM

VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) – Just before 11 a.m. Monday an explosion at the SG Solutions Coal Gasification Plant killed two people. Black smoke poured from the plant which is located near the Duke Energy power plant in northwestern Vigo County off of State Road 63.

Ed Utterback, who lives near the plant told News 10 “I’ve lived here since 1957 and I’m accustomed to the power plant periodically blowing down the boilers and it sounds like steam being released… [T]oday it sounded much louder with a little bit of rumble to it and lasted much longer, maybe a minute and a half or two minutes.”

Power plant officials say two men from Sterling Boiler Local 374 were working on an opening of one of the gasification units when it opening exploded. The men were said to be tighting bolts from nearly 150 feet in the air when the explosion occurred.

Richard Payonk, the plant manager of SG Solution announced in an afternoon press conference “To our knowledge they were tightening bolts on this particular flanged opening on the gasifier. Beyond that, I would be speculating on what occurred and how it occurred, except that we do know in hindsight that the opening did fail and come off, yes.”

Parts of the plant were immediately shut down as rescue crews raced to the scene. According to the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department, the fire from the explosion was out before fire crews ever arrived.

The names of both men killed in the explosion have not been released yet, pending notification of family.

John Sisco, a man who says he knew both victims, expressed his anguish to News 10. “What can you say? There’s nothing you can say. It’s just tragic and so sad. These guys were top notch, Grade A boilermakers,” Sisco said. “Great people, great people to be around. And it’s just tragic. It’s a tragic loss and it’s a shame that it happened.” Sisco wanted folks to know “The prayers of every single worker at this facility are with them entirely. These were our close friends as well and we feel we’ve lost family members as well here very much so. It’s a very sad day for that.”

Federal state and local officials are still investigating the exact cause of the explosion. Hamilton Center sent counselors to the power plant to help workers deal with the accident.

By: Joe Stoll and Susan Dinkel WTHI-TV

======================

Production at coke gasification to resume after investigation

Press Release

TERRE HAUTE, IND.—SG Solutions plant manager, Richard Payonk, addressed the media this afternoon following a fatal accident at its pet coke gasification plant in Terre Haute, Ind. Two contractors employed by Sterling Boiler & Mechanical, Inc. were killed.

The accident occurred at SG Solutions just before 11 a.m. today when a flanged opening on a high pressure vessel containing synthetic gas failed. Federal, state and local officials have been notified, and the investigation is ongoing. There is no danger to those nearby the plant.

“The safety of our workers and contractors is our top concern, and we’re vested in working with officials to find the cause of the accident and to make sure we’ve done everything in our power to prevent future accidents from occurring,” plant manager, Richard Payonk said.

Sterling Boiler Controller Ken Wahl issued a written statement this afternoon stating: “Sterling is assisting local authorities in every way possible in determining the cause of the explosion,” the statement said. “Our hearts and prayers are with the families of these individuals.”

Production at the plant stopped immediately following the incident and will resume once an investigation is concluded and all safety procedures are evaluated. Prior to today’s incident the facility had experienced no fatalities since opening in 1995. Wabash Valley Power owns 50 percent of SG Solutions, which operates the gasification plant that transforms petroleum coke into synthetic natural gas.

Wabash Valley Power is a generation and transmission cooperative (G&T) headquartered in Indianapolis. The G&T provides wholesale electricity to 28 electric distribution cooperatives in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. Collectively, they serve more than 350,000 homes, farms, businesses and industries. SG Solutions is a national leader in the development of synthetic gas for use in the generation of electricity for homes and businesses.

As one of only two Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) facilities in the United States, SG Solutions has received national recognition as a flagship project of the Department of Energy Clean Coal Program. Source: SG Solutions

Seems Mike Wadley, Site V.P. at Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, heard the squeaky wheel, joined now by several other squeaky wheels, and will dig around and find out what’s up with the Prairie Island relicensing applications.  Sounds like one is at the Red Wing library.  I’m holding out for a hard copy, as I told him, I think I deserve on, each of the 4-5 volumes in a gold plated binder.  We’ll see…

… or is it Bitch & Kvetch… Google Analytics, it’s a wonderful thing, it leads me places I have no clue existed and asking questions that leaves me wondering just exactly how many people are spending way too much time on their computer. The tracking shows searches, what someone was digging around about before they landed on my site, and some are inexplicable, like the regular searches for Andrew Borene, who cares, or the constant searches for “shit” or Krispy Kreme.” Others are more understandable, like “coal gasification” and “Outland transmission line” and “Big Stone combustion waste – where does it go?” and “certificate of need corrupt.” Then there’s the ones by people I figure I must know and if I don’t, I should, like “Ken Lay is not dead” and “rip their eyes out Greg Davids” (remember him???!!! eeeeuw), or “Lenka Dusilova + credits” or bust a gut ones like “what are the positive aspects of coal?” and… and … and others send me right to google, where I figure something’s up that I should know about, like “technological leprosy” and “warrick project flour india” and “use of sludge as pozzalan in concrete,” and today’s favorite: “can’t sell my Black & Veatch stock.”

Turns out that Black & Veatch, if you believe what you read on the internet, has an employee stock ownership plan. Which then got me thinking about whether, with all these plants going down, if the conslutants take it in the shorts if a project doesn’t go forward for one reason or another. Many of the folks working on Mesaba are doing it on spec. What about the biggies, do they get paid, get paid a percentage, how does it work? With so many coal plants going down, and if they had to take a hit on each, maybe that’s connected with the query? If that’s you out there, let me know what’s up!!!

Anyway, when I was googling around, I found this week’s “Energy Strategies Report,” which is looking at financial picture of the electric industry. Watching all these plants go down, watching stocks downgraded, watching the industry, and the coal sector in particular, coal plants specifically, watching these downgraded as investments, oh, it makes my day. So here’s another of the gloom and doom reports, and it’s very well written, meaning that it’s easy to read and understand, and it’s taking from my favorite sources, like NERC, lots of good little gems to be found:

NERC 2007 Reliability Assessment

Here’s the report that made my week, already, in just a quick scan:

Energy Strategies – Black & Veatch – March 3, 2008

My favorite quote? Ya gotta love it:

To put it less charitably than Moody’s, the invester-owned sector now teeters on the cusp of non-investment grade (junk) status.

Hee hee hee hee hee hee, it’s pretty hard to hide the economics of these hare-brained schemes. And they’re getting smacked upside the head with it. ‘Bout time… more comments later after I’ve had a chance to really read it.

Today is day two of a coal, or NO coal, conference in Houston. The weather is BEA-UUU-TI-FUL, but internet connection is sketchy, so before I lose it, here’s the presentation from this a.m. from moi, Nancy LaPlaca and Alan Muller:

IGCC – Pipedreams of Green and Clean

More later…