END-OF-2008 UPDATE FROM NAB:
PLEASE DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR SIGNS!! YOU MAY TAKE THEM DOWN FOR NOW--
We say FOR NOW, because until we see contracts signed and the anaerobic digesters built, we shall not rest. Many of us are keeping them in the garage for a "just in case." It is up to you. We will be happy to pick them up or you can drop them off. (See Below). In the event that we have to gear up the campaign we can redistribute them. Other communities will also be needing them as this burning garbage is an international PR campaign by the incinerator and garbage industry on our public officials at all levels. PERSONALLY, MINE IS FROZEN SOLID IN THE GROUND!!
CONTRIBUTION TO NAB IS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!
We celebrate NAB being successful this year in stopping 2 burners in the Twin Cities. We could have not done it without you! However in the final push, the core group had to spend a significant amount to take the project home. We would appreciate it if you could continue to help us pay off this debt.
Your contribution is tax-deductible. Make checks out to Neighbors Against the Burner and send them in ANY AMOUNT to 2098 Carroll Ave. St. Paul, Minn. 55104
CONTACT PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA:
You may want to contact our new president as well as all levels of your public officials and express your concerns that burning garbage is currently hidden in many laws and government initiatives within the definitions of "biomass" and "renewable energy" which are the buzz words of our times as we try fervently to get away from our dependence on fossil fuels.
Once again it is up to the citizens to educate our public officials that in our "fervor to get away from oil" we could be making some serious errors with long- term consequences. We must continue to say NO! STOP THE MADNESS OF BURNING!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL & A PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
NAB would like to thank the thousands of citizens that stepped up to the plate
and joined the effort to stop the burning of garbage in St. Paul and Minneapolis but
also to support the 500 well-paying union jobs at Rock-Tenn, especially in these hard economic times.
We ordinary citizens, scrounging for donations and using our own money, were up against a $4.5 million state grant, the incinerator and garbage industry, the MPCA, private firms, the St. Paul Chamber of commerce and many well-placed public officials in all levels of government.
But many of you donated, worked hard, passed out flyers, came to public meetings, wore T-shirts, buttons and put signs in your yards and window. You just plain spoke up. You said NO! WE DO NOT WANT TO BURN GARBAGE, NOT ONLY IN THE TWIN CITIES, BUT ON THE PLANET! It was a good example of the people speaking up and in the end -- finally being heard.
With so many working together, in June, the Midtown Eco Burner was pronounced dead by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. With the help of involved citizens, in November, after a several years' contentious public process, the St. Paul City Council voted unanimously to support off-site anaerobic digestion that will produce methane which, when cleaned up, will be put directly into the natural gas line. Rock-Tenn will go from burning 75% #6 fuel oil, sometimes known as bunker oil, which is known to be almost as polluting as burning the proposed garbage, to maybe 90% natural gas which is what most of you burn in your homes.
Yes, we all want to get off of fossil fuels, but until more anaerobic digesters become the norm along with wind, solar, geo-thermal and fuel cells and who knows what is on the horizon, this is a good, clean solution. Kathy Lantry, President of the St. Paul City Council, expressed amazement that their two "children" came together in agreement to save Rock-Tenn. (We assumed she meant those protective of the environment and the the unions.) Bob Ryan from the Steel Workers union, a 3rd- generation Rock-Tenn employee with a wonderful family, stood up at the Council hearing and said that he did not think burning garbage was a good idea and asked the Council to vote for the anaerobic digestion proposal. This was a great day!
WHAT IS AHEAD FOR NAB?
Kandiyohi Partners, the group behind the Midtown Ecoburner, has now proposed to the little town of Rockford to build a "biomass" burner. The citizens there are not happy. Veolia Garbage wants to build a garbage burner in the beautiful town of Fairmont. There is a proposal to burn in Perham. These citizens are not happy.
We have wind of plans for many burners. This madness must stop! We ask your continued support as we help other communities. Remember, dioxin and other pollutants circle the globe and thin the atmosphere. NAB will continue to update our website, neighborsagainsttheburner.org, to keep you posted and for you to consult for questions.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR SIGNS?
Councilman Russ Stark made the statement at the City Council meeting: "Well, we hope to see a lot less of those green signs now." Problem is, this process took so long that most are frozen in the ground. However, when you can get them out, PLEASE DO NOT THROW THEM IN THE GARBAGE to be ground up and burned, producing dioxin, etc.. We have plans of re-use and recycle. When possible, we also need the stakes which cost $1 a piece as well.
Contact us at 651-647-9908 (for yard sign information only, please) and you can drop them off or we will pick them up.
Thank you again to all involved for your support and efforts for a good solution. NAB wishes you all a happy and prosperous New Year with good health and a clean environment for all!
Sincerely and respectfully,
ALL OF NAB & Nancy Hone, Coordinator and Founder
NEIGHBORS AGAINST THE BURNER
<neighborsagainsttheburner@gmail.com>
For a feature story about NAB's founder, Nancy Hone, see Women's Press, July 8, 2008. Click here.
For a Daily Planet feature story on Rock-Tenn, "Burning Questions About Health", click here.
Burning our forests to "create" energy is an unsustainable practice -- LET'S NOT DO IT!
Wise words in May 2008 from Denny Haldeman, Forest Activist:
"People forget where forests come from and how they sustain themselves. There's this thing called nutrient equilibrium where a tree takes more out of the soil than it gives back until a certain age when it is returning more than it took, building soil for forest continuation. Most pine farming in the US is done now at younger and younger ages where they never reach nutrient equilibrium with the host soils. That's why the pine farm industry is using aerial spraying of chemical fertilizers to try to mitigate some of that soil rape. People are being sickened by this wholesale poisoning of the soil and surrounding lands. For more info, see: http://www.socm.org/toxics.html
I planted 880,000 pines in the early 80's when the back was stronger and I thought I was doing something beneficial. The rotations then were 30-45 years between plantings. Southern pines have about a 30 year nutrient equilibrium depending on the site. Rotations now are down to 15-20 years. Plantations are still rapidly replacing native woodlands to try to meet demand. The soils on the Cumberland Plateau, where I live, can support about 3-4 rotations before the soil gives out according to one State Forester who let it slip in a public hearing.
I have also planted in northern Wisconsin where one in three attempts at a hole for a seedling was met with rock. There's a thin brown line between life and death on this planet, a mere few inches thick. That's yet another reason to recycle as much as possible instead of incinerate. If the folks in the Black Hills were serious about forest health, in their wildfire paranoia scams, they would mulch it onsite and return it to the forest floor."
Do we want this to happen again . . .
at Rock-Tenn? You betcha NOT!
Mesabi Daily News On-Line
www.virginiamn.com
Original at: http://tinyurl.com/24evgc
Utilities will likely get MPCA fines
Negotiations continue on manufacturer reimbursement
By JIM ROMSAAS
City Editor
Published: Thursday, March 6, 2008 9:59 PM CST
VIRGINIA - The Virginia and Hibbing public utilities will most likely be fined by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for violating the emission permit on its biomass boilers.
The utilities first notified the MPCA in mid-2007 that malfunctioning equipment was causing them to operate beyond the parameters of their air operating permits. Since then they have been working on a solution, including possible fines.
“The MPCA and the public utilities are close to agreeing to potential fines and a process to modify the air-operating permit in order to be in compliance in the future,’’ according to a joint news release issued Friday by both utilities.
Virginia Mayor Steve Peterson did not want to comment at this time because did not have enough information. He also said he has been out of town and not able to talk to Terry Leoni, general manager for the Virginia utility.
MPCA spokesperson Anne Moore confirmed the negotiations but could not comment on the timeframe or what fines might be forthcoming.
The boiler manufacturer will likely reimburse the utilities for the fine, according to the release.
“Our equipment manufacturers, Foster Wheeler and others, have provided us with technical and monetary support to correct these issues and we are working with Foster Wheeler through a settlement agreement to reimburse the utilities,’’ said Leoni.
The Laurentian Energy Authority, a public authority of the utilities, operates the biomass facilities cities under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Xcel Energy.
“As our new renewable energy biomass plants started up after construction, we experienced several equipment malfunctions in Hibbing and Virginia,’’ said Leoni. “This is common in new plant construction. As our technicians attempted to adjust the operations of the biomass boilers, we exceeded the permitted operating parameters.
In addition, “the MPCA has encouraged us to pursue an air permit amendment,’’ Leoni said in the release. “The original data used to prepare the permit compared our equipment to other dissimilar biomass boilers, which were co-fired with fossil fuels. We uncovered this error, and will now suggest to the MPCA that a modified permit use date from boilers like ours which utilize only biomass as the fuel source.’’
“We are confident that the changes our equipment manufacturer has made along with the permit modifications we are seeking will enable our public utilities to operate within permit parameters going forward,’’ said Jim Kochevar, general manager in Hibbing. “We also believe LEA has offset any excess emissions by the investments in our 1,700 acres of closed loop hybrid poplar tree plantations, which are good for the environment.’’
The Virginia and Hibbing public utilities formed LEA and invested more than $87 million in new biomass renewable electric power facilities in both communities, a new combined renewable fuel handling yard, and almost 1,700 acres of hybrid poplar tree plantations.
LEA now sells 35 megawatts of clean, renewable electric power to Xcel Energy, providing many new jobs in the logging, trucking, and fuel handling industries, along with preserving 70 jobs at the public utilities, the release states. LEA’s renewable energy production is helping Xcel meet Minnesota’s renewable energy mandates.
“This capital investment insured the survival of the two public utilities by creating a new customer, updating our plants, and continuing to produce energy for our customers in the cities of Hibbing and Virginia, said Kochevar.
Jim Romsaas can be reached at jim.romsaas@mx3.com. To read this story and comment on it online go to www.virginiamn.com.
Neighbors Against the Burner invites you to check out these web pages for more specific information about the proposed "waste to energy" incinerator at the St. Paul Rock-Tenn plant. We also offer you extensive research on the hazards of creating energy through incineration. Please visit our "Contact" page if you have further questions.