A federal plan intended to improve visibility in national parks would have costly implications for local electricity consumers, according to local electric co-ops.
The U.S. EPA has proposed to implement its own plan that would override a decision by North Dakota regarding power plant emissions.
Last week, The Journal published a story sent by the National Parks Conservation Association that said advocates applaud the EPA decision because it would help to reduce haze in areas like Voyageurs National Park.
But critics of the EPA’s plan say the federal agency is trying to force a technology that, when tested, did not work to improve visibility at a level that the human eye can detect and at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Power co-op representatives say the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s action, if approved, could cause significant rate increases for North Star Electric consumers.
North Star Electric supplies power to about 6,400 accounts in areas including Baudette, Littlefork and Island View.
Dan Hoskins, North Star general manager, estimates that North Star members would see an approximate 35-percent rate increase if the EPA plans is implemented.
That rate increase follows an increase that went into effect in March that cost North Star members, on average, 17 percent more for electricity.
“It would be devastating, to say the least, to a lot of folks in our area,” said Hoskins of the potential increase. “In the Borderland area we serve, it would just be devastating. I don’t know how else to say it.”
The increased rates would be required to pay for more than $500 million in capital investments to install additional emissions-reducing technology at the Milton R. Young Station, located near Center, N.D.
The technology approved by North Dakota has just recently been installed at the Young station, said Mac McLennan, CEO of Minnkota Power Cooperative, which supplies power to North Star Electric.
The EPA is proposing a federal implementation plan to replace portions of North Dakota’s state implementation plan that outlines requirements for removal of nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants in the state. The North Dakota plan addresses the emissions at a much lower cost with comparable visibility improvements, according to McLennan.
The Young station is made up of two units. One station began producing electricity in 1970 and is owned and operated by Minnkota. The other unit began producing in 1977 and is owned by Square Butte Electric Cooperative and operated by Minnkota. The output is under contract by Minnkota and Minnesota Power of Duluth.
McLennan said that “whatever happens at unit one and two have an impact on North Star Electric Coop members.”
In July, North Star Electric’s Enlightener newsletter, urged members to “jump on board what could be called the ‘enough is enough’ campaign.”
The Enlightener says that the technology proposed by the EPA has not been proven, and even if it did work “wouldn’t really improve the visibility.”
McLennan agrees and notes that Minnkota Power Cooperative, North Star’s wholesale power provider, just completed $420 million in capital investments at the Young station for environmental upgrades already approved by North Dakota.
“Spending an additional $500 million or more for no perceptible improvement in visibility doesn’t make sense,” says the Enlightener.
On Sept. 1, the EPA issued its proposal to partially disapprove North Dakota’s plan for addressing regional haze. The proposal is expected to be published soon in the Federal Register, at which time a 60-day comment period will begin. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled to be held Oct. 13 at the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library in Bismark, N.D.
McLennan says that the state of North Dakota will likely sue the EPA over its proposal.
And, he notes, the action has nothing to do with health. The Young station meets all state health requirements, he said.
The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” Annual Report for 2011 gave Oliver County, where the Minnkota-operated Milton R. Young Station is located, an “A” grade for lack of ozone, also known as smog.
At issue, said McLennan, is whether selective catalytic reduction is the appropriate technology to use in lignite-fired boilers as opposed to selective non-catalytic reduction and over fire air technology, which the state has approved, and Minnkota just recently installed at the Young station.
The cost to Minnkota of the federal proposal is estimated at more than $500 million to install and $100 million to operate each year. The technology recently added to the Young station cost $40 million to install and will cost about $5 million to $8 million to operate each year.
“Based on the facts in front of us, the state of North Dakota made a reasonable decision associated with the installation of technology and the right decision based on what we know today,” McLennan said.
How to Submit Comments
Website:
• www.regulations.gov (government site)
Email: r8airndhaze@epa.gov
Fax: 303-312-6064 Attn: Gail Fallon
Mail: Director, Air Program, EPA, Region 8
Mailcode 8P-AR
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202-1129
