That's what CC Engineer Bert Dawson told those in attendance at Wednesday's OEPA hearing during the public comment portion. He was talking about Baard's proposed CTL plant in his impassioned plea to support this project, if not for us then at least, for future generations in our area. The ten time county engineer said the Baard proposal was the best thing to come along in a very long time. He remarked that the ville has been steadily declining since the rail roads left town. His remarks for the record hit home with a lot of people that were there and got a rousing round of applause. Here I thought engineers were sedate!
So it went for most of the evening with the third and final OEPA public hearing for permits for Baard's proposed ORCF plant. It was standing room only. The ER's Jen Matsick estimated there were 1,200 people there. That's a bit exaggerated by my calculations. I was counting ten rows of chairs with 16 chairs in each row. They were two deep on both sides and three to four deep standing in the back. I'm guestimating that the count was around half of what was reported.
Still in all it was an impressive amount of folks for an event in the ville. Also impressive was the number of boiler makers there. I think several locals were represented and I'd venture to say that they were close to half of the folks that came. Another impressive group was the politicians from the local level here in Wellsville, to those in the county level, state level and even national. Chris Gagin was there with a message from our U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson. The Sierra Club told us a few weeks ago that they would have "droves" of people there but I didn't see it. Newspaper reports said there were only five people that commented for the record against the proposed plant. If there was large numbers of opponents there they were very quiet. Wonder if the boiler makers had any influence with that? During the question & answer session one fellow in the back started talking about old CTL plants in Africa. One of the boiler makers up front reminded him that this is the USA and maybe that set the tone for speaking in opposition. I did notice that the lady from the National Resources Defense Council &Sierra Club's Nachy Kanfer seemed nervous when I got up close and personal with them.
Both of our local newspapers gave lengthy accounts on the proceedings but there were a few things that got my attention. At the JVS thing last Saturday someone brought up the question of coal dust. The OPEA announced that the coal for this plant will be transported by conveyor belt systems from the Port, up the hill and through out the plant. That will eliminate a lot of need for trucks which has cause us problems in the past from another operation in the village. I was told today that they are debating whether the conveyor will go over or under Route 7. Seems ODOT is not too much in favor of going over the highway. For cost considerations I'm in favor of going over the road. Whatever comes about a covered conveyor will mostly reduce any worry about coal dust. We won't have to be concerned about the dust being dragged out through that area of the village.
Carbon sequestion was huge on a lot of people's minds. Burning coal produces large amounts of carbon dioxide. The opponents say it is an unproven technology. The truth is this is not so. With tests and what Baard plans to use, they can capture 93% of the unregulated CO2 produced. I told you I can be slow at times but I didn't know that CO2, a gas, can be compressed into a liquid form until Wednesday night. That's exactly what Baard plans to do. It can be stored in tanks and sold for commercial purposes. They have been conducting tests up around Canton in some old oil fields. They are finding that residue oil in those old wells can be pumped out and when completed they can cap the well with cement to contain the CO2. Tests on surrounding wells have shown that the CO2 does not leak. The Canton area has very similar geology to what we have here. Many don't realize that in this area there are a lot of old oil & gas wells, old clay & coal mine tunnels long forgotten. Just look at the old mines they sealed off between here and East Liverpool on SR 7. That's just a minute example of what is available in this area for carbon sequestion. CO2 won't be a problem with the ORCF plant
As mentioned previously CO2 emissions is not a regulated pollutant. Opponents are questioning why Baard does not make a legal commitment to this aspect of the operation. How can you make a legal commitment to something that as yet is not regulated by any environmental legislation in the nation? Baard says they are going to deal with it and I have no reason to disbelieve them. Regulation may come about sometime down the road. If it does Baard will be ahead of the game and may even set industry standards dealing with this greenhouse gas.
Also brought out is that the OEPA says there are 78 emission monitors with 45 control devices that will be incorporated into the plans and operation of this plant. Now that is a legal committment on Baard's part. They have to make regular reports to the OEPA and if there is something in the permits that isn't being adhered to they won't be in business. Even though it's wasn't part of the air emissions permit that this hearing was concerned with I learned that there is a commercial opportunity for Baard to capture mercury and sell it. They won't be dumping it in the river. There's a market for it.
Having followed developments of this proposed plant since news first came out I was glad I was able to witness this final hearing. It was a learning experience for me and I'm sure for a lot of other people too. Someone commented on yesterday's post about the smell of naphthalene. With the location of this plant and our prevailing westerly winds even odors won't be very much in evidence. I made it to two out of the three hearings and I'm convinced that this plant will be nothing less than a golden opportunity for the whole tri-state area.
It's a normal human trait for folks to be apprehensive if not down right fearful of something new and different in what we're use to in our everyday lives. So far I have found there is nothing with this proposed plant to worry about. It will be a definite plus for our village and the whole area.
Wellsville should indeed welcome Baard. The deadline for submitting written comments to the OEPA for consideration is September 15. After that they will make a final decision on the air emissions permit which will be forwarded to the Director for a final determination. Spokesmen for the OEPA said this will probably take a month, maybe less. Once this permit is approved Baard will be permitted to break ground. As I said a year ago in June, bring it on.
So it went for most of the evening with the third and final OEPA public hearing for permits for Baard's proposed ORCF plant. It was standing room only. The ER's Jen Matsick estimated there were 1,200 people there. That's a bit exaggerated by my calculations. I was counting ten rows of chairs with 16 chairs in each row. They were two deep on both sides and three to four deep standing in the back. I'm guestimating that the count was around half of what was reported.
Still in all it was an impressive amount of folks for an event in the ville. Also impressive was the number of boiler makers there. I think several locals were represented and I'd venture to say that they were close to half of the folks that came. Another impressive group was the politicians from the local level here in Wellsville, to those in the county level, state level and even national. Chris Gagin was there with a message from our U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson. The Sierra Club told us a few weeks ago that they would have "droves" of people there but I didn't see it. Newspaper reports said there were only five people that commented for the record against the proposed plant. If there was large numbers of opponents there they were very quiet. Wonder if the boiler makers had any influence with that? During the question & answer session one fellow in the back started talking about old CTL plants in Africa. One of the boiler makers up front reminded him that this is the USA and maybe that set the tone for speaking in opposition. I did notice that the lady from the National Resources Defense Council &Sierra Club's Nachy Kanfer seemed nervous when I got up close and personal with them.
Both of our local newspapers gave lengthy accounts on the proceedings but there were a few things that got my attention. At the JVS thing last Saturday someone brought up the question of coal dust. The OPEA announced that the coal for this plant will be transported by conveyor belt systems from the Port, up the hill and through out the plant. That will eliminate a lot of need for trucks which has cause us problems in the past from another operation in the village. I was told today that they are debating whether the conveyor will go over or under Route 7. Seems ODOT is not too much in favor of going over the highway. For cost considerations I'm in favor of going over the road. Whatever comes about a covered conveyor will mostly reduce any worry about coal dust. We won't have to be concerned about the dust being dragged out through that area of the village.
Carbon sequestion was huge on a lot of people's minds. Burning coal produces large amounts of carbon dioxide. The opponents say it is an unproven technology. The truth is this is not so. With tests and what Baard plans to use, they can capture 93% of the unregulated CO2 produced. I told you I can be slow at times but I didn't know that CO2, a gas, can be compressed into a liquid form until Wednesday night. That's exactly what Baard plans to do. It can be stored in tanks and sold for commercial purposes. They have been conducting tests up around Canton in some old oil fields. They are finding that residue oil in those old wells can be pumped out and when completed they can cap the well with cement to contain the CO2. Tests on surrounding wells have shown that the CO2 does not leak. The Canton area has very similar geology to what we have here. Many don't realize that in this area there are a lot of old oil & gas wells, old clay & coal mine tunnels long forgotten. Just look at the old mines they sealed off between here and East Liverpool on SR 7. That's just a minute example of what is available in this area for carbon sequestion. CO2 won't be a problem with the ORCF plant
As mentioned previously CO2 emissions is not a regulated pollutant. Opponents are questioning why Baard does not make a legal commitment to this aspect of the operation. How can you make a legal commitment to something that as yet is not regulated by any environmental legislation in the nation? Baard says they are going to deal with it and I have no reason to disbelieve them. Regulation may come about sometime down the road. If it does Baard will be ahead of the game and may even set industry standards dealing with this greenhouse gas.
Also brought out is that the OEPA says there are 78 emission monitors with 45 control devices that will be incorporated into the plans and operation of this plant. Now that is a legal committment on Baard's part. They have to make regular reports to the OEPA and if there is something in the permits that isn't being adhered to they won't be in business. Even though it's wasn't part of the air emissions permit that this hearing was concerned with I learned that there is a commercial opportunity for Baard to capture mercury and sell it. They won't be dumping it in the river. There's a market for it.
Having followed developments of this proposed plant since news first came out I was glad I was able to witness this final hearing. It was a learning experience for me and I'm sure for a lot of other people too. Someone commented on yesterday's post about the smell of naphthalene. With the location of this plant and our prevailing westerly winds even odors won't be very much in evidence. I made it to two out of the three hearings and I'm convinced that this plant will be nothing less than a golden opportunity for the whole tri-state area.
It's a normal human trait for folks to be apprehensive if not down right fearful of something new and different in what we're use to in our everyday lives. So far I have found there is nothing with this proposed plant to worry about. It will be a definite plus for our village and the whole area.
Wellsville should indeed welcome Baard. The deadline for submitting written comments to the OEPA for consideration is September 15. After that they will make a final decision on the air emissions permit which will be forwarded to the Director for a final determination. Spokesmen for the OEPA said this will probably take a month, maybe less. Once this permit is approved Baard will be permitted to break ground. As I said a year ago in June, bring it on.
Pictured above is Caroline Markworth from the OPEA's Public Interest Center and the other OEPA officials getting things started Wednesday night.
ole nib
3 comments:
nib said , "Newspaper reports said there were only five people that commented for the record against the proposed plant. If there was large numbers of opponents there they were very quiet. Wonder if the boiler makers had any influence with that?
Like I said in my previous post , to speak out against the plant would be justifiable cause for a lynching here Wellsville. It's going to happen. Tens of thousands of acres of land stripped for coal , not to produce electricity , but to squeeze out a fraction of liquid fuel.
When all the construction workers and union tradesmen are gone , Wellsville will be left with yet another source of coal dust infiltrating our homes , not to mention all the other toxin by products that will be trapped between the hills. You think the Wellsville Terminal is a problem , or the sewage plant is a health hazard , you haven't seen anything yet.
Personally I don't care. By the time Wellsville is done whoring itself out to Baard Energy I'll be long gone , but the mania surrounding this outdated technology for a few dollars pumped into the local economy sickens me. But it doesn't surprise me
Wait 'til the smell of rotten eggs (sulfur) from the coal extraction process spreads over the town. That will make you forget about the coal dust in the streets and on the houses.
Go down to Follansbee WVa. (across from Steubenville) and smell the Coke plant.
You won't be able to give a house away in Wellsville.
I seriously doubt that any of the people that work there will live close to Wellsville.
I doesn't take Rocket science to figure that out!!
Well now...I thought that was you standing next to Amel, Nib. A reporter can sniff out another notebook a mile away. I should've walked up and introduced myself. Nice shirt, by the way.
If I were Melissa Waage or Nachy Kanfer, I would've been nervous too. Any anti-Baard statements don't go over so well in this area. I thought their statements were very diplomatic, however, but people are going to boo anyway.
They had valid points to make, and it seems like the Sierra Club isn't trying as hard to put a halt to this project, don't you think? The project is a juggernaut at this point. Now, all eyes are on the OhioEPA, and the eyes are super-scrutinizing. Hypothetically speaking, should the OhioEPA not measure up to the area's expectations, I'd hate to think of the ramifications.
OhioEPA senitment is interesting, no? Ohio River Clean Fuel advocates have put unwavering faith and trust in the OEPA, which probably isn't misplaced. Alternatively, the anti-ORCF crowd seems to put forth a notion of distrust of the OEPA, but I could be wrong with that perception. I've heard anti-Baard advocates say how the company should "have a heart" and invest in solar panel and windmill/turbine manufacturing, which are some pretty great industries to get involved with. But, such industries require heavy steel production.
Now, I'm only 28, so I certainly don't remember the days of steel production in the Valley, but I've heard the mills were anything but squeaky clean. My former journalism professor spoke of a yellow sky some nights that, although unhealthy, was rather beautiful. My question is why bring mills back to make green products if the anti-Baard argument is an environmental one?
Some may argue that steel manufacturing has come a long way since the Steel Belt days, with which I would agree. But who helped make those strides toward cleaner steel plants? The EPA, I would imagine. Why then is the anti-Baard crowd so eager to put faith in the EPA when it comes to steel plants, but not when it comes to coal liquefaction?
Regardless, it was nice to see such a good turn out Wednesday night, especially with the unions. Having both sides of the argument present, no matter how unbalanced, can only result in effective dialogue that will lead to a successful project.
Course, I could be wrong.
It's been known to happen.
A couple times.
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