Before the Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Division is expected to take action on an air quality permit application submitted by Indeck, a public forum to field residents’ concerns sought to provide feedback on air impacts Wednesday night at Northside Child Development Center.
Indeck, a natural gas powered combine cycle power plant, submitted the application to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Division — the entity responsible for regulating sources of air pollutants — in May. On Wednesday night, the MDEQ announced that, based upon analysis, the project met state and federal standards.
Among the analysis included for public review was an examination of potential emissions and the rate at which they would be released yearly, among one of the most significant portions of which was carbon monoxide at a rate of 2,009 tons per year — though this amount is projected to lessen, due to the fact that more pollutants are emitted in the beginning starting up and shutting down process.
But residents who braved the cold and wind on Wednesday night sought to share more than concerns relevant to air impacts with the dozen or so members of the DEQ. Among the talking points were fears that pollutants could impact farmers, use water resources, emit unwanted noise and limit other business operations from setting up shop in the area.
Some also came to voice their support.
Former Mayor Mike McCauslin took the stand to voice his approval.
“I do not know how the DEQ could not approve this permit application as it certainly meets all the requirements that have been set forth,” McCauslin said.
The company asked the city of Niles to review plans for construction late September and the project remains in its very beginning stages. If approved for operation, Indeck could create 1,000 megawatts of energy, powering 635,000 homes, according to information posted on the company website. The company has also claimed that they will bring 21 full-time jobs and 500 union construction jobs.
For local farmer Larry Eckler, the concern was for other farmers in the area, who might deal with pollutants carried in the wind or temperature inversions, which he said had the potential to disburse emissions.
“I would like to see them do at least a year monitoring in this area before they issue the permit, because it is a serious concern,” Eckler said.
Additionally, Eckler said the company has already tried and failed twice to follow through with their plans for construction.
“We have a history with this company already,” he said. “Where they pulled the plug because of natural gas [prices].”
To assure that state and federal standards will continue to be met, DEQ’s Amanda Chapel said that the company would be subject to surprise inspections at a minimum of every two years and they would have to update their permit every five years.
According to Asselin, an action for the permit application needs to be completed within in 240 days. However she said that they were hoping for a decision to be reached before the end of the year.
Chief of Air Quality Lynn Fiedler, who is ultimately responsible for making a decision on the permit application, said that all the feedback, even the comments not relevant to air impacts, would be reviewed and brought back for consideration.
Fiedler said these meetings help to determine if the division might be missing information or concerns from the residents.
“While not all of them are air related, these are things that we need to share with other parts of our department,” Fiedler said.
Residents can still share comments. If interested in providing feedback on Indeck visit deq.state.mi.us/aps/ccwerp.shtml