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

By Executive Order dated July 30, 2009, Governor Granholm put into motion the climate action plan recommended by the Michigan Climate Action Council. She set goals of a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2020, and an 80% reduction by 2050. The MDEQ was directed to begin tracking progress toward this goal beginning in 2012. Implementation measures include developing:

• Building codes to adopt higher energy efficiency standards;
• Strategies for reducing vehicular congestions; 
• An eco-driver program to improve driving patterns and practices;
• Practices for implementing carbon sequesteration practices in agriculture and forestry; 
• A statewide truck idling program; and 
• Adaptation plans for state.

54 climate mitigation actions form the basis of the climate action plan.

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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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by Bruce Goodman

A good example of how agricultural-dependent countries can help sequester carbon and thereby  benefit from the concern about carbon dioxide emissions can be found in the Carbon2Markets Program.  This program, developed by Michigan State University, is an agro-forestry land management program that encourages participation in the carbon credit finance markets by small landholders in developing countries. The Carbon2Markets program includes collaborative projects with farmers, researchers and government agencies in five developing Asian and African countries. MSU researchers help the farmer groups grow high-value forest crops such as jatropha or shea using sustainable methods. The carbon stored in the soil by the trees will be measured and recorded using high-resolution remote-sensing earth- observing satellites, web-GIS tools, and modeling. The measured offsets will allow the farmers to supplement their income by participating in the global carbon market.  It would also be extremely helpful if developed nations worked to create the market for jatropha, shea, and other sustainably produced products.

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by Bruce Goodman

For a long time, the energy industry has recognized the value of Michigan’s underground storage capacity, which constitutes ten percent of the nation’s natural gas storage capacity.  Now, with rumblings about cap and trade and the need for carbon sequestering, there is the question of whether there will be a “land rush” for this resource.  This also raises the question of whether Michigan needs new regulations (and perhaps new legislation) to develop, regulate, protect, and exploit this resource.  Although the U.S. EPA is working on rules for underground carbon dioxide storage under the Safe Drinking Water Act, it is unlikely to address the real need for regulations—defining the long-term environmental liability for sequestered carbon dioxide.  Commercial-scale sequestration creates numerous environmental liabilities for entities that will own/operate sequestration facilities or transport carbon dioxide to such facilities, including accidental carbon dioxide releases.   Other states are acting on legislation by transferring the  liability for post-injection carbon dioxide to the state.  Will Michigan act soon enough and be prepared to catch this wave?

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