The EPA issued a press release early this morning stating they plan to take three years to study the pollution potential of biomass (aka incineration) plants. Question is: Will Mecklenburg County take the time to do the same?
This is interesting timing, since there is a meeting tonight about a proposed trash incinerator at the planned “eco-industrial” ReVenture Park.
Shannon Binns, of Sustain Charlotte, said this in response to the fed’s delay: “EPA has caved to pressure from the biomass industry to avoid the litigation that would ensue if they proceed with regulating their emissions. They have essentially stuck their hands in their pockets for three years by making this decision to do nothing. As an EPA contact in this office admitted to me herself, a molecule of CO2 is a molecule of CO2 and to decide some must be counted and others not is indefensible from a legal and scientific perspective. They will likely be challenged in court for not upholding the Clean Air act as a result of this. Very, very disappointing.”
Tonight, there’s a community meeting about the proposed “eco-industrial” ReVenture Park. Currently, Mecklenburg County is trying to decide whether or not to sell our trash to ReVenture so they can, among other things, burn it. (Other things include sort for recycleables, which they’ll sell, and the creation of refuse-derived fuel pellets, which they’ll both burn and sell.) Additionally, the county plans to stop shipping plant-derived refuse (think tree clippings) from Compost Central, where it’s currently burned in South Carolina, so ReVenture can incinerate it at it’s proposed 20MW energy plant.
It’s important to note that tonight’s community meeting is being hosted by the ReVenture Park developers. After they apply for air quality permits for their incinerator, which is new and virtually untested technology (meaning, we have little to no data on what type and amount of pollution will escape its smoke stack), the government will likely host public meetings.
There are several reasons why this is a huge deal for Charlotte. 1) The promise of jobs. Here’s the deal, though: The first jobs will be temporary construction jobs, and the next round of jobs at the biomass plant will go to the company that’s building it. See, this is their first real run with the plant and they want to be there — for at least the first five years — to ensure everything runs smoothly. The other jobs? Well, if the incinerator isn’t approved, the rest of the jobs may not materialize; and, 2) Air pollution. The American Lung Association already ranks Charlotte’s air quality as the 10th worst in the country.
If you’d like to attend tonight’s community meeting, it’s at 7:30 p.m. at Cooks Memorial Presbyterian Church located at 3413 Mt. Holly~Huntersville Rd, Charlotte, NC 28216.
Further reading: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 2010 tied 2005 as the warmest year on record.
Rhiannon “Rhi” Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing’s CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.
This article appears in Jan 11-17, 2011.
Rhi,
I can’t tell if this article is supposed to be factual, but just in case, a few points.
1. Referring to the Gasification Unit at ReVenture as an incinerator is a red herring. Everyone who has NOT painted themselves into a corner of unthinking opposition understands why you would maintain these fear-mongering semantics. It is not because you have any interest in fair and open conversation.
2. New technology is complex. It also solves problems. Like cutting edge solar panels and wind turbines, new generation gasification is an essential tool that we need if we have any chance to turn around the impending environmental crisis. Putting our heads (and garbage) in the sand is simply dumb.
I understand that it is much more cool to be anti-development and thumb your nose at the stupidity of the EPA (stick it to the Man, Rhi!) At the end of the day, the perfect really is the enemy of the good, and the only other solution I’ve heard is 100% recycling. This just isn’t going to happen in the next 50 years and anyone who thinks it will is not cognizant of reality—those spectacular numbers you hear about in other cities are not real.
I also understand that you are paid to write “snarky” copy for this blog. I do hope you understand that parroting the Luddite line in a public place hurts your credibility wherever else you write. Good luck!