Legalectric

There’s the Garbage Queen Victoria Reinhardt, Ramsey County Commissioner, promoting the Joint Powers of Ramsey and Washington County’s dream of buying a RDF processing facility in Newport, one that’s now a private entity that they’re contracted with to handle their garbage!  Why buy it?  Why lock the counties into decades of grinding up garbage?  They couldn’t answer that.

And it’s a bit of a conflict, as after they grind it up and turn garbage into RDF, they send it down here to burn it.  Thanks Ramsey & Washington Counties.  Let’s be clear here — you need to deal with YOUR garbage problem, and not send it to us, and not put it in our lungs.

They talked some about “what ifs,” like dreams/nightmares of anaerobic digestion and garbage gasification, but that is not dealing with their problem.  It’s an issue of REDUCTION, REUSE, RECYCLING.  How difficult is that?

More Value Less Trash_Open Houses Powerpoint

Here’s their site and read between the lines for the plan:

More Value Less Trash

Last night’s meeting was at Century College, which was 916 Area Vo-Tech when I went there and emerged in 1983 with a Truck Driver Certificate and the first of a few jobs of over the road driving that got me through a BA at Metro State!  It’s changed a lot, big expansion, and the trucks are no longer there up against 694.

The next “Talkin’ Trash” garbage open houses will be 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.:

• Tuesday, April 21, in the Marsden Room of the Ramsey County Department of Public Works building, 1425 Paul Kirkwold Drive in Arden Hills.
• Thursday, April 23, in lower level conference room 14 at the Washington County Government Center, 14949 62nd St.t N., Stillwater.
• Monday, April 27, in at the Newport City Hall, 596 Seventh Ave., Newport.
• Tuesday, April 28, in Auditorium A of the Wilder Foundation, 451 Lexington Parkway N. in St. Paul.

Here are the latest reports that they’ve generated…  they lose it by only looking at burning or landfilling — there’s a much wider range of options.  And the Foth Report (first up) should make you froth:

Foth Analysis of Mixed Waste Processing
This study examines the potential of adding Mixed Waste Processing Technology at Newport and the costs associated with adding the technology.
Report

Ownership Analysis
This analysis includes looking at the current Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) processing facility and also looking at other technologies that may be used to process MSW.
Analysis

Governance Report
This policy study investigates the governance options available to the counties, describes the process to implement and consequences associated with each.
Report

Waste Delivery Assurance Analysis and Options
This document provides an overview of options for assuring delivery of mixed municipal solid waste, and potentially other solid wastes, to the Newport Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) Facility or another resource recovery facility involving Ramsey and Washington Counties.
Report

Technology Comparative Analysis
This report compares the three options analyzed in the Preliminary Resource Recovery Feasibility Report to the current RDF System and to landfilling.
Report

Preliminary Resource Recovery Feasibility Report
This report addresses the technologies selected for continued evaluation by the Ramsey/Washington Counties Resource Recovery Project as part of the future of waste processing decision process.
Report

And for some “big picture” emissions info, here’s the latest Toxic Release Inventory from the EPA:

TRI – 2010 in sortable Excel

Hennepin County and the MPCA have released their “Environmental Assessment Worksheet” for the HERC burner, together with supporting documents.   Check ’em out:

HERC Environmental Assessment Worksheet

Covanta HHRA Report

HERC NAAQS Report

As you read through them, note the dates… some of it goes back to 2009, some 2008 and some 2006!

There will be a public comment period and a public meeting following publication in the EQB Monitor.  Here’s the EQB Monitor site to check, it’s not there  yet…

EQB Monitor site

For more info, keep an eye on the Neighbors Against the Burner site.

On Monday, the Minneapolis Planning Commission had another hearing and deliberated the HERC garbage burner expansion.  The discussion of the Planning Commission was enlightening — here it is (it’s big, patience), just go here and click “download” and in time, it’ll be there:

Planning Commission deliberation on HERC

After which, of course, they voted it DOWN.  Denied.  No permit.

Thanks to the Planning Commission for taking a close look at this project!

WE WON A SMALL WIN — A START ON PREVENTION OF EXPANSION OF HENNEPIN COUNTY’S HERC BURNER!

Now and then, it sure helps to win, and Neighbors Against the Burner is on a roll here!

Here’s Alan Muller, testifying about specifics, noting that the areas of greatest concentration shown in the “ballpark EIS” were NOT in the ballpark, and the City has not addressed these impacts in any way:

Muller’s HERC Plume cover letter

Plume Predictions from 2007 baseball stadium EIS

In the meantime, here’s his letter to the Commission prior to the last meeting with a graph showing emissions:

Muller – HERC letter

Rep. Karen Clark came in to testify about her opposition to the project, citing the impacts of pollution on Hennepin County, armed with graphic graphics showing how bad the situation is already, and testified about specific impacts in her district, the Phillips neighborhood, particularly arsenic impacts, and other harmful pollutants.

Rep. Frank Hornstein also testified against the project, as did John Schatz, Leslie Davis, and the most bizarre HERC cheerleading twit, Mary deLaittre, who has actually written THIS (be sure to check the links.. “unique waste to energy facilities, oh pleeeeeze, pass the barf bag)– PARAGRAPH BELOW IS LINKED TO SITE:

A HERCulean effort

Because repetition is our friend, we feel the need to re-visit HERC (Hennepin Energy Recovery Center) and extol its virtues again. We sense that many have been missing the forest for the trees with respect to our pal HERC. HERC is a neighborhood amenity that provides an invaluable community service by disposing of 356,000 tons of garbage a year for Hennepin County. This garbage is converted into enough electricity to power 25,000 households, or 1/5 of all the residences in Minneapolis. Not only is it a 24/7/365 powerhouse, it is also a green building, to boot. Powerful as it is, HERC could do even more. HERC’s operators cite the plant’s unused capacity, and desire to contribute additional steam/water heating and cooling for the North Loop neighborhood. Like any building over 20 years old, it needs a bit of updating. A proposed makeover by Hennepin County and Covanta Energy, originally designed by students from the University of Minnesota, shows how the building and grounds could be transformed. So, as a city that touts itself as being green and wanting to be more sustainable, we should be celebrating HERC and supporting its efforts to become a better neighbor and community landmark. Visit our expanded collection of images featuring unique waste to energy facilities from around the world.

I’m speechless… too bizarre…

And alsoin the bizarre category, Asst. City Attorney wrote an opinion as to the City’s authority to adopt more stringent air emissions standards, a blatant attempt to quash their desire to act, to LAWFULLY act:

Asst. City Atty. Memorandum re: HERC

It was a hoot that he cited, offpoint, from Jimmy Jam Harris’ tax case in Hennepin County — when I looked that one up, right below it was Terry Lewis’ tax case! I can’t imagine why he’d cite these cases, as they didn’t make a useful argument for his view of statutory interpretation or lack thereof…

Anyway, I had a few minutes to blast off a reply:

Overland Memorandum re: City Authority

From the article about it in the STrib, and note they’re clear about their authority:

“We’re well within our authority to say no,” Commissioner Carla Bates argued before the vote. Commissioners cited the admission of Covanta’s environmental director, Jeffrey Hahn, that burning more trash will result in a small amount of additional plant emissions, but he said that pollutants will remain far below limits set by the state. Hahn said the plant has already added some equipment and would add more to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions that are closest to the current limit.

Here’s the full article:

Bid to burn more trash near ballpark turned down

The Minneapolis Planning Commission, citing health effects, rejected Hennepin County’s bid to allow more garbage to be burned daily.

By STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune

Hennepin County’s bid to burn more garbage next to the new Minnesota Twins stadium crumpled Monday in the face of skepticism from Minneapolis planning commissioners over the potential health effects.

The county had sought approval of a 21 percent increase in the daily average tonnage of garbage burned at the downtown facility. But on Monday evening, the Planning Commission voted 6-2 to deny an amendment to the facility’s zoning permit that would have allowed the burning of more than 1,200 tons of trash daily.

A majority of commissioners said they’re not convinced that increasing the plant’s burning of trash is consistent with a required finding that such an action isn’t detrimental to public health.

But the debate may not be over. The commission’s decision can be appealed to the City Council within 10 days, and it runs counter to the advice of the city attorney’s office. The county and incinerator operator Covanta Energy referred a reporter to each other on the question of an appeal.

Carl Michaud, the county’s environmental services director, said he needed to “go back and talk to a few folks” before commenting on an appeal. He disputed the assertion of planning commissioners that there was insufficient analysis of the plant’s environmental effects.

“We’re well within our authority to say no,” Commissioner Carla Bates argued before the vote. Commissioners cited the admission of Covanta’s environmental director, Jeffrey Hahn, that burning more trash will result in a small amount of additional plant emissions, but he said that pollutants will remain far below limits set by the state. Hahn said the plant has already added some equipment and would add more to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions that are closest to the current limit.

An opinion by the city attorney’s office warned that “anecdotal testimony that more throughput equates to more pollution which equates to bad health effects is not a sufficient basis to deny.” But commissioners also found that burning more trash runs counter to city sustainability and growth policies.

The burner was constructed in the 1980s with a state limit that it could burn an average of 1,000 tons of trash per day incorporated into its city zoning permit. The state cap was increased to the plant’s 1,212-ton-per-day design capacity in 2000. One of the legislators involved, Sen. Linda Higgins, DFL-Minneapolis, said that the intent was to make use of unused capacity, and that the plant burns cleaner than in its early days.

But the North Loop Neighborhood Association, which reviewed the proposal, said it would favor a 10 percent increase in the plant’s processing only if there was no increase in pollutants released. The plant generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of 25,000 homes and also supplies steam for downtown heat.

The county and Covanta relied heavily on a finding in ballpark environmental studies that the incinerator’s health effects are below levels at which concern for ballpark users would be triggered under federal standards. But opponents argued that health effects on a broader area of emission dispersion need to be measured and considered.

The Minneapolis City Council hasn’t weighed in on incinerator capacity issues for more than 20 years.

Well, would ya take a look at this!  I would guess that Minneapolis is getting the message that there is indeed opposition to this stupid idea…

Minneapolis pushes to burn more trash

By STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune

Minneapolis planners have recommended that the city approve an increase in the amount of trash that can be fed daily to Hennepin County’s downtown garbage burner.

A planning staff recommendation to the Planning Commission urges that the city’s zoning permit for the facility be amended to allow the increase sought by Hennepin County and Covanta Energy, which operates the plant for the county.

They want to increase the average daily consumption of trash from the current 1,000 tons to 1,212 tons.

That recommendation will be considered by the commission at its meeting at 4:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

The request has attracted attention because the new Twins ballpark is rising next to the incinerator, and is due to open next spring close to the time that the larger amount of trash would begin to be burned.

According to a planning staff report, an environmental review conducted for the stadium found emissions from the larger amount of trash were below federal levels of concern. The same study also found that neighborhood odors such as sewer smell and diesel exhaust were more noticeable than the odor of incinerator trash.

Opponents of the expansion said Thursday that they are organizing for the commission meeting. Alan Muller, who has been evaluating the request for opponents, said an expansion would inevitably increase human exposure to air pollutants. He questioned whether the state is adequately regulating the facility.

Some opponents have urged the county to compost more garbage as an alternative to burning it.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438