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Carol A. Overland, Overland Law Office — Utility Regulatory and Land Use Advocacy

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Northern Metals rears its ugly head in Becker

April 16th, 2018

Image result for Northern Metals, Minneapolis

Northern Metals was violating its MPCA permit, it also lit on fire.  Ultimately, it was run out of town.

So now it goes to Becker.  How will it NOT violate its permit there?  Oh, right, MPCA will be so lax about it that violation would be a logical, legal, and physical impossibility.

Muller on Northern Metals (primary docs here)  March 26th, 2012

From today’s EQB Monitor:

Project Title: Northern Metals, LLC – Becker

Comment Deadline: May 18, 2018

Project Description: Northern Metals, LLC plans to construct a scrap metal recycling center in the general industrial area in the City of Becker. The Project consists of an enclosed metal shredder, an enclosed metal recovery plant, an end of life vehicle process, and a Community Recycling Center (CRC). The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will host a public meeting on the proposed expansion of the Northern Metals, LLC – Becker project May 10, 2018, at the Becker Community Center located at 11500 Sherburne Avenue, Becker, MN. The event will begin with an informal open house from 6:00 to 6:30, followed by a presentation from the MPCA and a question and answer session. The MPCA will provide information about the draft air emissions permit and the environmental assessment worksheet (EAW). A copy of the Notice of Availability and the EAW can be found on the MPCA website at the following address: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/eaw [per Kevin Kain, it’ll be posted afternoon 4/16/2018] Minn. R. 4410.100 subp. 1.D.

Responsible Governmental Unit (RGU): Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

RGU Contact Person:
Kevin Kain
520 Lafayette Rd N
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-757-2482
kevin.kain@state.mn.us

Posted by Carol A. Overland
Filed in Disasters
No Comments »

HERC Power Purchase Agreement DENIED!

November 19th, 2017

Everybody, get out your HERC Hanky and wave it for the home team!!!

Last Thursday was a fairly short, but quite intense, day at the Public Utilities Commission.  First up was Freeborn Wind (go here and search for docket 17-332), and its application for a transmission line for the project plus more.  We did get the “proceeding” process and not a summary report. That’s good, not a huge deal, but enough that it means we get some extra process in the transmission routing docket, meaning an ALJ drafted Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendation (not just a report), and the opportunity to file Exceptions to the ALJ Recommendation. In those exceptions, we can also ask for public comment and oral argument to the Commission.

Second on the agenda was the HERC Power Purchase Agreement, and Xcel Energy’s HERC PPA Petition to cut the rate (go here and search for docket 17-532).

Bottom line, after much deliberation, and a 10 minute break (what is it they do back there???), here’s the decision option they chose, as framed in the Staff Briefing Papers_201711-137262-01:

Way to go, Mr. Alan Muller!

Seems to me that but for our squwaking, it would have eased on through.  But the question remains, where were all the folks who supposedly had committed to shut down HERC?

Primary documents were posted earlier here:

  • HERC at PUC on Thursday
  • HERC — from Muller, in the Daily Planet
  • NAB Petitions to Intervene in the HERC Docket
  • Due TODAY — Comments on HERC
  • Comment period on HERC PPA Amendment
Posted by Carol A. Overland
Filed in Incineration, Land Use, Legislative & Policy, Political Sense (non?)
No Comments »

NAB Petitions to Intervene in HERC Docket

September 26th, 2017

Yesterday Neighbors Against the Burner filed this Petition to Intervene in a docket at the PUC where Xcel Energy has filed a request for approval of a Power Purchase Agreement slashing the rate paid to Hennepin Energy Recovery Center – HERC for electricity generated at the HERC garbage burner:

Neighbors Against The Burner_Cover-Notice of Appearance -Petition to Intervene

Check out the Public Utilities Commission docket:

Click “Search Documents” HERE and search for docket 17-532

Here’s the Neighbors Against the Burner page for HERC:

HERC page and links via Wayback Machine

And check out Alan Muller’s powerpoint from the successful challenge to attempt to increase garbage burning:

HERC_Power Point

There was an announcement in April, 2016, of  the “HERC Clean Power Plan Coalition” with multiple groups joining to shut down HERC!  Sierra Club North Star Chapter, MPIRG, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Community Power, St. Joan of Arc, etc.  HERC has been raised as an issue in this fall’s Minneapolis Mayoral election. 

Now’s the time to get it done!  SHUT IT DOWN!

Posted by Carol A. Overland
Filed in Incineration, Legislative & Policy, Political Sense (non?)
No Comments »

Due TODAY — Comments on HERC

September 11th, 2017

Get to it, folks.  Comments are due TODAY! Here’s mine, and Alan’s, just filed:

Overland Legalectric Comment_HERC-Xcel 17-532

Muller Comments_20179-135413-01

in eDockets, go here to register, it’s quick, it’s easy, and you can post on Public Utilities Commission’s eDockets system.

Notice_20179-135289-01-1

On what? Xcel Energy’s latest plan (part of) to terminate and/or amend outrageously high priced Power Purchase Agreements on incinerators across Minnesota.

Comment period on HERC PPA Amendment

Just filed — hot off the press:

Commerce DER_20179-135384-01

Hennepin County_20179-135389-01

Xcel Energy_20179-135379-01

And check what Commerce DER is at long last admitting, that there’s a generation surplus and transmission is for export:

Not only is there no need, BUT THERE IS NO NEED FOR MINNESOTANS TO PAY FOR MORE TRANSMISSION! But that’s an argument for another day, another docket…

Here’s another snippet:

And check this conclusion reached by MN’s Dept of Commerce – DER in its first round of comments — that Xcel is double dipping:

Here are the DER Comments:

CommerceDER_20178-134456-02

And Comments of Hennepin County:

Hennepin County_20178-134679-01

So far, not even ONE other comment!?!?!
The fundamental problem I have with this is that Xcel Energy and “Hennepin Energy Resource Company” privately reach an agreement that works for them, but screws the public and enables operation of an incinerator that is a money-sucking polluting drain. Listen for that sucking sound…
Now would be a good time to shut it down.
The HERC Burner has been a problem for a long time… and their plan to increase garbage-burning capacity went south.

Burn 200 Tons More Garbage at the HERC Incinerator?

Here’s the Neighbors Against the Burner HERC archive.

From Hennepin County:

Hennepin Energy Recovery Center | Hennepin County

From Politico:

Minneapolis Gets Trashed

Posted by Carol A. Overland
Filed in Energy, Incineration, Land Use, Legislative & Policy, Political Sense (non?), Power Plants - includes Mesaba coal gasification
No Comments »

Comment period on HERC PPA Amendment

August 22nd, 2017

That’s the HERC garbage burner, known to some as the “Hennepin Energy Recovery Center.” It’s right next to the new baseball field, so I made a “HERC Hanky” as schnozz cover in the stands.

Xcel now wants to revise the HERC Power Purchase Agreement and lower the price it pays HERC for electricity.

HERC+PPA+Petition+PUBLIC

Hmmmmm, changing the rules in the middle of the game. Burning garbage has never been an economically winning proposition. Cut the rate?  What will that mean for Hennepin County?  As of a few minutes ago, the Public Utilities Commission announced a comment period on this change:

17-532+NOTICE+OF+COMMENT+PERIOD+HERC+PPA

Comments?  About what?

Initial Comments are due by 4:30 p.m. on September 11, 2017.  eFiling is preferred.  To eFile comments, go HERE TO REGISTER.  It’s simple and fast.  When you file, file under docket number 17 – 532 (that’s 17 for “year” and 532 for “docket number”)

Note the Commission asks, “Are there other project-related issues or concerns?”  Well, what’s wrong with HERC and burning?  For a long time this has been an issue for Neighbors Organizing for Change, Neighbors Against the Burner, Minneapolis Neighbors for Clean Air (wayback version), and the Sierra Club and the push to increase tonnage burned was successfully brought to a screeching halt by these groups and the folks of Minneapolis!   You can find some general information at Alan Muller’s site.  Alan reports that the HERC air permit expired something like 8 years ago, not uncommon.  Most Minnesota air permits are expired and the MPCA isn’t doing much about it.

Some specifics on the tonnage burning increase request that was foiled:

Muller – Comment – Spreadsheet of Pollutants

Comment-Eureka Recycling, Institute for Local Self Reliance, Linden Hills Power & Light, Women’s Environmental Initiative, Will Steger Foundation

Remember this?  “The Burning Question” way back in 2013? Let’s get real, burning garbage isn’t a question!!!

Tuesday 9/17 – Dr. Paul Connett at Mayflower Church

Who is paying attention to this now?

Posted by Carol A. Overland
Filed in Incineration, Land Use, Legislative & Policy, Political Sense (non?)
No Comments »
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