The natural gas fired combined-cycle plant Indeck Niles, which has proposed construction plans in the city of Niles has been approved for an air quality permit to install by the Michigan Department of Environmental Air Quality Division.
The permit was officially approved on Wednesday. According to Mark Mitchell, the supervisor for thermal and chemical process units for the Air Quality Division, the proposed project will meet state standards for air quality.
“If it meets all of the required standards and rules and regulations then we are required by law to approve,” Mitchell said.
While achieving the permit puts the project one step closer to a reality, it does not yet signify a green light to begin construction on the proposed $1 billion facility planned for construction on 110 acres of land at 2200 Progressive Drive in Howard Township.
“This is one of the many projects that they have to check off to move forward,” said City Administrator Ric Huff. “ There are still quite a few moving parts. No one can say it is a done deal or it is going to happen at this point.”
While the Indeck project was approved by the planning commission in October, they are still negotiating construction plans with engineers, Huff said. They are also expected to go to the market for a bid in April.
Even Indeck’s work with the MDEQ is not yet through.
According to Mitchell, the recently approved permit would allow Indeck to install its facility. Once they are in operation they will need to apply for a permit to operate from the Michigan Department of Air Quality.
The process for application review included the Michigan Department of Air Quality hosting a public meeting. At the session Dec. 16 in which more than 50 residents showed up to Northside Child Development Center, to voice concerns or support for the project.
The comments were intended to help the air division make a decision on whether or not to approve the permit. All comments were said to be taken into consideration.
Residents who showed up that night expressed an array of concerns from air pollution to noise, water and agriculture pollution, while others, including the former Mayor Mike McCauslin, sought to show support for the project and the more than 500 jobs that the plant could create.
A concern that helped to fuel the process was based on a resident’s comment about the meteorological data gathered to show new emissions could disperse on the ground. The resident felt the data, which was based from a five-year study in South Bend that was not reflective of the local area.
In response to this comment, a new computer model run with a lower inversion rate was created. The new run data “showed little difference,” according to a response to comment document created by the air division.
A full list of comment and the division’s response can be fond at deq.state.mi.us/aps/cwerp.shtml.