by Bruce Goodman

In 2007 a group of citizens requested that the MDEQ create rules to regulate CO2 emissions.  When the request was denied an appeal was taken to the courts. The trial court held that under applicable Michigan law there was no clear legal right to the creation of specific rules regarding CO2 emissions. Nor was the Michigan air permitting scheme, which has no CO2 emissions regulations, deficient under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. On February 9 these rulings were affirmed by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

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by Bruce Goodman

The Department of Energy has awarded an initial $3.71 million grant to study whether carbon dioxide from Holland Board of Public Work’s proposed new coal-fired electric generating plant can be safely injected in below-ground sandstone formations.  PraxAir Inc. assisted in garnering the funds for the Board’s study.  Test wells will be drilled at the location of the plant.  The cost of the carbon-sequestration project is estimated to be $150 million in addition to the $240 million cost of the new plant.   The DOE has also awarded Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc. $2.7 million to demonstrate the use of advanced amines and additives to capture 300,000 tons of  CO₂ per year from its proposed 600 MW circulating fluidized bed power plant near Rogers City.  Both projects are in the process of negotiating air permits with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.  Meanwhile the state legislature is working on a bill that would charge a one-time $1 per ton CO₂ fee and 15 cents per ton annually in exchange for the state assuming liability for the CO₂ storage.

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