Environmentalists May Just Hunt the Badger to Extinction

[XLFD]

An ecological disaster that happened in Tennessee on December of 2008 may have doomed a local business that employs 250 people.  After heavy rains overloaded the system, residences living near the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston coal plant were flooded with approximately 500 million gallons of  black coal waste. It covered 400 acres of land and flooded into tributaries of the Tennessee River which is the water supply for Chattanooga TN and millions of people living downstream in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. 

 

It lead many environmental groups to push the EPA into declaring coal ash (the solid material left over after burning coal) as a hazardous, toxic waste, and forced the EPA to enforce the Clean Water Act more stringently.  A little known fact up to that point was that Ludington's SS Badger, the last coal-powered ship on the Great Lakes, dumped a coal ash slurry into the lake as it crossed.  The EPA said they had to stop that practice.  Last year, the company managed to push the date for compliance up to December 2012. 

 

The SS Badger has two basic options if they wish to survive after this date:  they can find some alternative to burning coal as a fuel or find an alternative method of getting rid of their coal ash. 

 

At the July 12, 2010 Ludington City Council meeting, it was divulged that the Lake Michigan Carferry had requested the city's assistance in applying for federal funding to convert the vessel's coal-fired propulsion system to an EPA-approved diesel system.  The total cost would be $16 million, $14 million to come from the grant, with the city as the fiduciary. 

 

Many of you may remember that when the high-speed Diesel ferry that travels between Muskegon-Milwaukee asked for $14.5 million of guaranteed loans from the government back in 2004 to start up operations there was (rightly) indignation by the Lake Michigan Carferry (LMC), owner of the SS Badger, over the unfairness of it all, since Charles Conrad had used only his personal funds to reinvigorate the SS Badger.  Why now does the LMC decide to put the taxpayer's money at risk to fund changing a national historic landmark from a romantic, nostalgic coal-fired steam ship to just another annoying Diesel boat?

 

I think Charles Conrad must be rolling over in his grave at such a notion.  But I do believe the EPA has a point-- the LMC should not be dumping coal ash slurry into the lake, whether it is a hazardous material or not, and should have been either dumping this coal ash in a lined landfill all along, or finding a way to recycle it (coal ash recycling into building materials has been a lucrative business where it has been tried). 

 

If the LMC does get this grant, does switch over to Diesel, it will have lost its soul, and will likely find a bunch of patrons that will navigate elsewhere.   My advice to LMC Chairman Manglitz:  Quit dumping this stuff in our lake, and start getting rid of it responsibly and in accordance with the Clean Water Act.  If you want Diesel, fund it without taxpayer funds. 

[AQUAMAN]

Back in the old days of cigarette smoking, now to be trounced down into the abyss, the mfrs. were bragging about charcoal filters on cigarettes that cut the toxins way back for health preservation. If anyone cares to know, the dumping of such coal ash may well be helping to preserve the environment, not destroying it. No, I did not google that, just my opinion. From where? Take the fact that 9 SS carferries sailed out of Ludington alone at the turn of the last century. Add to that many many more SS (steam ships) all fired by coal across Lk. Mich. were also sailing, and that all of them did the same as the Badger is doing today. Therefore, common sense would tell you that if that by-product would have hampered or destroyed the ecosystem of this Great Lake, it would have happened long long ago, not just now that one lonely ship still does it. My humble suggestion to the Badger owner is to take the coal ash upland and have it dealt with there, or fight this with help from our powerful politicians in DC, and not put diesel power on this last vestige of history.

[XLFD]

The environmental impact is likely minimal due to the slurry dumping of one vessel, and to my knowledge there has been no negative impact by this action on the Lake or those who live on the coast of it. Be that as it may, the Badger has been able to avoid some previous EPA guidelines by getting exemptions (such as in 2000, which were quelled during the more business-friendly EPA during GWB's presidency).

I agree with you that the best idea for the LMC would be to continue with the status quo for now, check to see whether the eco-political climate gets friendlier after the 2010 elections, prepare to have a plan to landfill the coal ash during 2012 for the 2013 season, and again see whether the 2012 elections change the fabric of the EPA. There could be a fair chance the EPA won't be a pawn of environmentalists at that point, if Obama gets unseated, and they may just be able to suspend having to change anything-- which they will surely be happy with.

I would just like to know why LMC would rather spend $16 million of taxpayer-loaned money to go Diesel, when they could just landfill/recycle the coal ash for what one would think would be a lot less.

[Sweater Cows!]

Maybe they care about reducing the amount of mountain top removal strip mining for coal. That is a very hideous process that should be illegal. Turning mountains into prairies is so wrong. Why not run the ship on solar or WVO(waste vegetable oil) or even the great lakes abundance of wind power. There must be a way to end the coal use and avoid another pollution producing fuel such as Diesel.

[XLFD]

I do hope they are looking at all possibilities, but fossil fuels are probably the only feasible fuels to propel the Badger. Suppose we could go 'nucular' and start dumping radioactive slurry in the lake. Who knows, we might get some new species of fish and break some old fishing records.

[Sweater Cows!]

Maybe that would take care of the Asian Carp, LOL.nuclear that attacks only asian carp genes. hehe