NNG: Coal Fired Ship in danger by EPA Regulations
| June 03, 2009 02:22PM |
|
Will steam Railroads be next???
S.S. Badger must stop dumping ash by 2012
6/3 - Ludington, Mich. – On one side, Ludington's S.S. Badger is lauded, revered and adored for its uniqueness as the last operating coal-fired passenger ship in the United States.
On the other, it faces environmental regulation for that very reason ¬– coal, or, in this case, a coal-burning waste product, ash.
With coal burning comes waste, emissions through the stack – specifically exempt from regulation by Wisconsin and Michigan state law – but also an ash slurry that is dumped daily into Lake Michigan. That ash discharge used to be considered normal operating procedure for coal-fired vessels. A 1973 portion of the U.S. Clean Water Act – when there were still more than 50 coal-fired vessels operating – stated discharges like the Badger's, which are "incidental to normal operations," were allowed.
Not anymore come 2012. The U.S. EPA lost a ballast water lawsuit, affirmed on appeal last year, and was forced to begin making shipping companies seek permits for their discharges, and to do so quickly. Lake Michigan Carferry is OK to operate as is after bringing its case to Lansing and Washington, D.C. – but only for three more years.
Now the clock is ticking as LMC comes up with a plan and changes the boiler system or removes the boilers and goes to diesel engines. There are options, and Lake Michigan Carferry President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Manglitz said there is time for LMC to get the job done to keep the May-October cross-lake car ferry between Ludington and Manitowoc in business.
Manglitz has no intention of letting the Badger stop sailing. He took over operations of the car ferry business from his father-in-law, the late Charles Conrad, who revived the cross-lake service in 1991. Conrad died in 1995. "My father-in-law wanted the car ferry service to run for another 100 years," he said.
"It has often been said that the owners of the Badger are only temporary custodians of a historic treasure," said Don Clingan, vice president and partner of Lake Michigan Carferry. "The car ferry legacy belongs to the communities it serves, and we feel a tremendous responsibility to our 250-plus employees and the economies of both of our port cities."
LMC hired a firm, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Preston Gates Ellis, of Washington, D.C., to work on its behalf. The firm sent a document to the EPA in October 2008 stating, "Unless (LMC) can gain clarification soon that it will be permitted to operate next year until the VGP or otherwise, it will shut down permanently this fall, rather than incur debt that it may not be able to repay."
The options
1. Keep the boilers, get a new fuel source.
Manglitz's first choice is to use the boiler system in place now and keep the Badger operating as a steamship, in part due to its historical significance and in part due to the $1 million the company has spent on it, including $250,000 in the last year.
He likes the idea of keeping the boilers and using a different fuel source, one that doesn't leave ash as a waste product. The company is looking into liquid coal and other options, working with engineers to find something that will work for the Badger.
2. Redesign the engine area, capture ash and truck it to a landfill.
The company could redesign the engine area to store the ash until it gets to shore and have it trucked to a landfill as power plants do with their ash, but Manglitz would just as soon get out of the business of producing ash at all, if possible.
3. Remove the boiler system and install diesel engines.
His last choice but still an option is to remove the boiler system and replace it with diesel engines. There are issues there as well, from the cost of that process to the environmental concerns.
"You lose the historical aspect, you lose the investment, and the EPA is really changing the law on diesel," he said.
In the end, he thinks the car ferry's own crew will find a solution. "It's not technically impossible," said LMC Chief Engineer Chuck Cart. "It's going to be a challenge and an expense the company will have to bear forevermore. The equipment used now has long been paid for." "We're looking at all our options," he said. "We have to look at everything."
Ludington Daily News
[www.carferries.com]
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2009 02:41PM by Larry.
S.S. Badger must stop dumping ash by 2012
6/3 - Ludington, Mich. – On one side, Ludington's S.S. Badger is lauded, revered and adored for its uniqueness as the last operating coal-fired passenger ship in the United States.
On the other, it faces environmental regulation for that very reason ¬– coal, or, in this case, a coal-burning waste product, ash.
With coal burning comes waste, emissions through the stack – specifically exempt from regulation by Wisconsin and Michigan state law – but also an ash slurry that is dumped daily into Lake Michigan. That ash discharge used to be considered normal operating procedure for coal-fired vessels. A 1973 portion of the U.S. Clean Water Act – when there were still more than 50 coal-fired vessels operating – stated discharges like the Badger's, which are "incidental to normal operations," were allowed.
Not anymore come 2012. The U.S. EPA lost a ballast water lawsuit, affirmed on appeal last year, and was forced to begin making shipping companies seek permits for their discharges, and to do so quickly. Lake Michigan Carferry is OK to operate as is after bringing its case to Lansing and Washington, D.C. – but only for three more years.
Now the clock is ticking as LMC comes up with a plan and changes the boiler system or removes the boilers and goes to diesel engines. There are options, and Lake Michigan Carferry President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Manglitz said there is time for LMC to get the job done to keep the May-October cross-lake car ferry between Ludington and Manitowoc in business.
Manglitz has no intention of letting the Badger stop sailing. He took over operations of the car ferry business from his father-in-law, the late Charles Conrad, who revived the cross-lake service in 1991. Conrad died in 1995. "My father-in-law wanted the car ferry service to run for another 100 years," he said.
"It has often been said that the owners of the Badger are only temporary custodians of a historic treasure," said Don Clingan, vice president and partner of Lake Michigan Carferry. "The car ferry legacy belongs to the communities it serves, and we feel a tremendous responsibility to our 250-plus employees and the economies of both of our port cities."
LMC hired a firm, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Preston Gates Ellis, of Washington, D.C., to work on its behalf. The firm sent a document to the EPA in October 2008 stating, "Unless (LMC) can gain clarification soon that it will be permitted to operate next year until the VGP or otherwise, it will shut down permanently this fall, rather than incur debt that it may not be able to repay."
The options
1. Keep the boilers, get a new fuel source.
Manglitz's first choice is to use the boiler system in place now and keep the Badger operating as a steamship, in part due to its historical significance and in part due to the $1 million the company has spent on it, including $250,000 in the last year.
He likes the idea of keeping the boilers and using a different fuel source, one that doesn't leave ash as a waste product. The company is looking into liquid coal and other options, working with engineers to find something that will work for the Badger.
2. Redesign the engine area, capture ash and truck it to a landfill.
The company could redesign the engine area to store the ash until it gets to shore and have it trucked to a landfill as power plants do with their ash, but Manglitz would just as soon get out of the business of producing ash at all, if possible.
3. Remove the boiler system and install diesel engines.
His last choice but still an option is to remove the boiler system and replace it with diesel engines. There are issues there as well, from the cost of that process to the environmental concerns.
"You lose the historical aspect, you lose the investment, and the EPA is really changing the law on diesel," he said.
In the end, he thinks the car ferry's own crew will find a solution. "It's not technically impossible," said LMC Chief Engineer Chuck Cart. "It's going to be a challenge and an expense the company will have to bear forevermore. The equipment used now has long been paid for." "We're looking at all our options," he said. "We have to look at everything."
Ludington Daily News
[www.carferries.com]
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2009 02:41PM by Larry.
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
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