On December 5 the Sierra Club joined with other environmental groups asking the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to shut down Minnesota Power’s Taconite Harbor and Clay Boswell coal-burning plants and replace them with plants that produce power from cleaner energy sources. The Sierra Club says that air pollution permits for both plants have expired and both plants produce air pollution that threaten the health of people who live in and visit the Northland.
On December 5, dozens of faith, health, youth and environmental groups and leaders called for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to “protect public health and act on Minnesota Power’s outdated air pollution permits for its Taconite Harbor and Clay Boswell coal plants.”
Meeting with the MPCA were the Sierra Club, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Fresh Energy to present their plan to address outdated permits and ongoing clean air concerns with Minnesota Power’s coal plants, said Jessica Tritsch, senior organizing representative, Sierra Club Beyond Coal to Clean Energy.
Tritsch pointed out that the air pollution permit for the Taconite Harbor plant is more than a decade old and the permit for Clay Boswell in Cohasset expired nearly two years ago.
Using maps and graphs to demonstrate where coal pollution exceeds national air quality standards along the Superior Hiking Trail and the North Shore of Lake Superior, the Sierra Club is petitioning the MPCA to amend and reissue Clean Air permits for the coal-burning plants.
The Sierra Club hired Wingra Engineering S.C. to conduct air-modeling analysis of Taconite Harbor to determine if the coal-fired plant was violating sulfur dioxide national ambient air quality standards. The tests were conducted from 2010-2013.
Tritsch said, “The modeling expert calculated how much sulfur dioxide Taconite Harbor could emit without causing violations of the air quality standards, and found that emissions would need to be reduced by over 90 percent from all three units.”
According to the Sierra Club, actual emissions from June 2010 to December 2013 exceed that safe level 97 percent of the time.
Tritsch, who recently played oboe with an orchestra in Beijing, China, said her chest hurt and it was hard to play her instrument because of the air pollution. She said she doesn’t want to see anything like that occurring here. “We believe the Clean Air Act was designed to protect people’s health and we want what’s best for the folks up there.”
According to the petition, the Taconite Harbor coal burning plant, “threatens Minnesotans with pollution five times the limit that EPA says is required to protect public health.”
To meet the national air quality standards, the Sierra Club said Minnesota Power—which is shutting down its Unit 3 boiler next year— should put forward a plan to replace Units 1 and 2 with clean energy to reduce SO2 and other pollution from burning coal.
Minnesota Power working to comply
Minnesota Power is working to comply with state and federal air quality standards, said Amy Rutledge, manager of corporate communications for ALLETE, Minnesota Power.
“I think it’s important to note first and foremost that Taconite Harbor is operating in full compliance with all SO2 limit requirements prescribed in our current permit, which is intended to protect public health and the environment,” Rutledge said. “We have reduced emissions across our fleet by 70 percent through investments in technology.
“At Taconite Harbor, SO2 levels have decreased 20-40 percent from 2003, and are at the lowest levels in the plant’s history. It is also worth noting that the MPCA air quality index monitoring shows that the best air quality in the state is in northeastern Minnesota, exceeding air quality in metro areas such as the Twin Cities,” said Rutledge.
When all three units are running the 225-megawatt Taconite Harbor Energy Center provides enough electricity to feed 120,000 residential customers, said Rutledge.
In an effort to produce cleaner/greener energy, last year Minnesota Power committed to an Energy Forward road map that adds wind and hydro power facilities to its energy mix, along with gradually reducing production at its coalfired plants.
“Our Energy Forward strategy is our plan for a balanced energy mix, we believe a balance of fuel diversity (renewables, coal, natural gas) is important to help keep our rates affordable for customers and preserve the reliable service they require and expect from us while improving environmental performance,” Rutledge said.
“The Sierra Club’s goal is to close low-cost baseload plants, but we believe our Energy Forward is a better plan, one that involves making the investment to reduce emissions significantly at our Boswell 4 plant while converting a smaller coal plant and closing a unit. These are changes that are resulting in a cleaner energy mix while maintaining affordability and reliability,” said Rutledge.
“Energy demand in our region is expected to increase significantly in the coming years due to large scale industrial projects coming online,” said President and CEO Al Hodnick. “Our resource strategy will provide the necessary power to cost effectively meet increasing customer needs; at the same time we are moving forward in a socially responsible manner and will reduce carbon emissions 30 percent by 2015 compared to 2005, well ahead of Minnesota’s carbon goals,” Hodnick said.
Sierra Club says it’s not enough
Despite Minnesota Power’s efforts to make more energy from cleaner, greener sources, Tritsch said Sierra Club believes Minnesota Power should not operate Taconite Harbor as a coal-burning plant. Tritsch said even after retiring Unit 3, the Taconite Harbor coal plant’s allowable emission limits will continue to exceed the 1-hour national ambient air quality standard for sulfide. She added the MPCA needs to address the issue in the plant’s permit.
“We are looking at the economic impact viability of this, but the Clean Air Act is designed to protect people’s health,” said Tritsch. “It’s not just sulfur dioxide pollution; there is also a slew of other pollution that comes from burning coal. We believe Minnesota Power should replace its coal burning units with cleaner energy.”
But, countered Rutledge, “Minnesota Power and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency are aware of the Sierra Club’s report, and Minnesota Power is reviewing the assumptions the Sierra Club made when they constructed their model.
“Because of the complex nature of relating modeled air concentrations to actual emission limits, MPCA and the EPA are continuing to develop the correct compliance pathways for this standard. Minnesota Power continues to work in full cooperation with the MPCA to support their ongoing efforts and is in regular communication with MPCA’s air permitting staff,” said Rutledge.
As far as air quality testing, Minnesota Power does not run many air ambient tests, said Rutledge. “Because of the complexities involved in air dispersion modeling, we do not routinely perform modeling unless we have an approved protocol from the MPCA. The development of protocol is under way. Once the protocol is developed, it is very possible we will have different results than the Sierra Club.
“It’s important to note there is not an MPCAapproved modeling run showing non-compliance with the standard,” said Rutledge.
Meanwhile the petition presented by the Sierra Club to MPCA commissioner John Stine states in part:
“Coal-burning power plants emit pollution that causes harmful health and environmental effects, and the Clean Air Act requires permits to limit that harmful pollution. Minnesota Power’s Taconite Harbor coal plant pollution adversely impacts the people who live and recreate in northeastern Minnesota, as well as some of Minnesota’s most popular and iconic parks and public spaces, including the Superior Hiking Trail, the Sawbill Trail, Caribou State Park, Manitou State Park, Lutsen Mountain Resort, and the historic Lutsen Lodge on the shore of Lake Superior. Minnesotans prize these outdoor recreation resources and expect to breathe clean air as we enjoy the outdoors.
“According to the Minnesota Department of Health, northeastern Minnesota has the highest rates of asthma-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations in the state. Exposure to sulfur dioxide pollution from coal plants and other sources for as little as five minutes can cause lung function impacts, asthma attacks, and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. … Because of these significant health impacts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updated national ambient air quality standards for sulfur dioxide in 2010 to better protect human health; Minnesota Power’s coal plants, however, are polluting at levels that exceed the new standard. MPCA must amend Minnesota Power’s air permits so that these standards fully protect the people and places in northeastern Minnesota from harmful coal pollution. We urge the MPCA to act now on this important matter of public health.”
The MPCA will review all input from environmental groups and from Minnesota Power before making any decisions. When that will be is anybody’s guess, but Tritsch said, “We do not know when a decision will be made, but we hope it will be soon.”
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