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 City of Cleveland administrators are not ready to pull the plug on controversial waste-to-energy technology. CLEVELAND — “Council members, who assumed last week that the proposition had met its end, expressed frustration and disappointment after hearing that the administration would not eliminate it from consideration.
‘The city’s own study demonstrates that the waste-to-energy plan is an economic lead balloon,’ said Councilman Jay Westbrook. ‘Call it for what it is, and stop tormenting tax-paying, conscientious residents.’
For several years, the city has flirted with the technology called gasification, which calls for burning pellets made from compressed trash to generate electricity for city-owned Cleveland Public Power.”
— Leila Atassi, Cleveland Plain Dealer
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— Leila Atassi, Cleveland Plain Dealer
 Environmentalists say Maumee Bay, near Toledo, would have been a better target for FirstEnergy conservation work. (Photo by rayb777 via Creative Commons) OREGON — “A Clean Water Act settlement related to that and two other small oil spills at FirstEnergy plants means that the company will pay a $125,000 fine and donate 200 acres of wetlands along Lake Erie in northeast Ohio to a land conservancy.
The land targeted is about 60 miles from two of the plants that had the oil spills, in Cleveland and Lorain. And it’s more than 150 miles from Bayshore.
Maumee Bay and western Lake Erie are considered among the Great Lakes’ most troubled spots, plagued by nutrient pollution, toxic algae blooms, low oxygen levels, invasive species and other issues. Since the waters are very shallow, they are also critically impacted by effects of climate change including warming, evaporation and pollution from runoff during heavy rains.
Local advocates hoped the EPA’s settlement with FirstEnergy could play a small part in addressing some of these problems and helping to make up for Bayshore’s share of the impacts. They are disappointed and frustrated that the settlement is instead benefiting a distant and ecologically separate part of the lake.”
— Kari Lydersen, Midwest Energy News
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LEXINGTON, KY — “Market forces, not the regulators reviled by McConnell, are what’s killing the coal industry in Eastern Kentucky. And the industry is not rebounding any time soon, say experts, because the region’s thin seams are too costly to mine and therefore can’t compete on price.
That a big chunk of people also hold out hope that a coal boom could be ignited in Central Appalachia, if only Congress reined in the Environmental Protection Agency, is not surprising. Human nature craves simplicity over wrestling with complex, scary questions about the future. So the 39 percent who said ‘no’ can be forgiven.
What’s becoming unforgiveable is the eagerness of politicians like McConnell and his co-sponsor, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and a slew of Kentucky Democrats to oversimplify and demagogue the challenges facing the coal-mining regions of Central Appalachia.”
— editorial, Lexington Herald-Leader
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COLUMBUS — “American Municipal Power and FirstEnergy are scrapping plans to build jointly a gas-fired power plant in northeastern Ohio because of increased financing costs.
The project in Eastlake, announced in November, was going to generate power during periods of peak demand, meaning it would operate only on the hottest days of the year.
…The financing issues arise from the sequester, a series of federal budget cuts that took effect in March. Among the cuts was the amount of the subsidy for Build America Bonds and other bonds that cities can use to help finance power-plant construction.”
— Dan Gearino, Columbus Dispatch
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LISBON — “The Columbiana County Port Authority is being told by the state to repay $305,500 awarded the agency for the defunct Baard Energy project.
The Ohio Development Services Agency (DSA), formerly the Department of Development, awarded the port authority the money in 2007 to help secure options on land in Yellow Creek Township for Baard’s proposed coal-to-liquid fuel plant.
The grant was tied to the creation of 200 jobs, which never materialized after Baard ran into financing problems and eventually sold out in 2011 to Planck Trading, an investment firm that proceeded to use its money to acquire the remaining 400 acres. Nothing has happened since with the project.”
— Tom Giambroni, Lisbon Morning Journal
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CHARLESTON, WV — “It’s earnings time, and the latest report out in the coal industry is from Alpha Natural Resources, which reported this morning:
Alpha recorded a net loss of $111 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, during the first quarter of 2013, compared with a net loss of $29 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, during the first quarter of 2012. The year-over-year increase in Alpha’s net loss is primarily attributable to lower per ton realizations on metallurgical and Eastern thermal coal and lower shipment volumes of Eastern and Western thermal coal, partly offset by lower cost of coal sales per ton, and lower SG&A and DD&A expenses.
Excluding the items described in our “Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Loss to Net Loss,” the adjusted net loss was $104 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, compared with an adjusted net loss of $58 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2012.”
— Ken Ward Jr., The Charleston Gazette
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 —Environmentalists say Maumee Bay, near Toledo, would have been a better target for FirstEnergy conservation work. CHICAGO, IL — “When power plant operators commit pollution violations, they are often required by the Environmental Protection Agency to do mitigation work on environmentally sensitive lands.
Critics, however, say vague rules often let the violators choose projects based on convenience, rather than impact.
In 2007, oil leaked from a storage tank at FirstEnergy’s Bayshore power plant on the shore of Maumee Bay, on the western edge of Lake Erie near Toledo. The company said about five gallons of oil made it into Lake Erie.
A Clean Water Act settlement related to that and two other small oil spills at FirstEnergy plants means that the company will pay a $125,000 fine and donate 200 acres of wetlands along Lake Erie in northeast Ohio to a land conservancy.
The land targeted is about 60 miles from two of the plants that had the oil spills, in Cleveland and Lorain. And it’s more than 150 miles from Bayshore.”
— Kari Lydersen, Midwest Energy News
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 The IEPA had never denied a coal mining NPDES permit. Ever. SPRINGFIELD, IL — “With state coal production soaring against national trends, Illinois cemented its reputation as the worst rogue state for coal operations last Friday, when the rubber-stamping operations of the state’s EPA issued a pollutant discharge permit to a company already cited by the state for over 600 toxic discharge violations at its central Illinois non-union strip mine.
Translation: Imagine the Department of Motor Vehicles renewing the driver’s license of a toxic-laden truck driver with 600 DUI’s.
Welcome to Illinois–where the brand new Prairie State coal-fired plant is facing ‘potential fraud’ investigations for rocket increases in electricity rates; where the second highest number of contaminated coal ash dump sites in the country abound; where a mind-boggling high hazard coal slurry dam continues to rise in sight of a farm town’s nursing home and day care center; where Illinois taxpayers underwrite a huge slush fund for coal marketing, including a shameless ‘coal education curriculum’ for students that blatantly covers up the facts on the state’s deadly coal industry; where even the liberal US Sen. Dick Durbin fights for the pork of ‘clean coal’ as the main utility company backs out of the FutureGen boondoggle.”
— Jeff Biggers, Huffington Post
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 Paul Bender, the city of Cleveland’s new head of public utilities. CLEVELAND — “At Bender’s swearing-in ceremony last month, Jackson praised him for his range and depth of experience and said Bender will play a critical role in ensuring the future viability of the city’s utilities.
But not everyone is sold on the new director just yet.
Environmentalists say they have yet to see where Bender stands on controversial issues involving Cleveland Public Power. The city is still studying the possibility of building a waste-to-energy plant, which would burn trash to generate electricity. And the utility is snagged in expensive long-term contracts with coal-burning power plants. In one case, a plant was never even built, but the city is on the hook for millions of dollars in stranded costs. The failed plant is at the heart of a pending lawsuit, involving CPP and a consortium of other cities that signed the deal.
Bender said in a recent interview that he has only begun to review CPP’s contracts and energy portfolio. He also deflected questions about the waste-to-energy plant, stating that the mayor is taking the lead on that issue.”
— Leila Atassi, Cleveland Plain Dealer
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 (Photo: Takver / Flickr) NEW YORK, NY — “Domestic coal use is one of the few figures that has been steadily dropping, with coal-fired power plants closing in many states and utilities shifting toward other sources (mainly natural gas) for power generation. So coal companies are scrambling with proposals to extract coal in Montana and Wyoming, ship it by train to ports in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, then freight it to Asian markets.
For a good overview of domestic coal use vs. export written last year, read Ben Jervey’s analysis at DeSmog Blog.
It is frustrating (and terrifying) to devote so much of our effort to preventing fossil fuel expansion rather than actually reducing emissions, but springtime brings some good news from the northwest coast. Of the five port proposals for increased coal export capacity in the U.S. this year, one has lost its investors and failed.
The other four are facing serious public and legal opposition, and are destabilized by the shifting sands of corporate prospects; Ambre Energy in particular is dogged by rumors of insolvency. No permits have been issued yet.”
— Josephine Ferorelli, Truthout
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Law gives agency power over permits, 3-0 ruling says
 Mountain Justice activists rally in front of the EPA in Washington, DC. CHARLESTON, WV — “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was clearly within its legal authority when it rejected a permit for one of the largest mountaintop removal mines in West Virginia history, a panel of three federal appeals court judges ruled Tuesday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia panel — made up of three Republican-appointed judges — reversed a lower court ruling that had thrown out the EPA’s veto of the Clean Water Act permit for Arch Coal Inc.’s Spruce Mine in Logan County.
Writing for the unanimous panel, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson said federal law gives the EPA authority to veto permits that agency officials believe the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was wrong to issue.”
— Ken Ward, Jr., Charleston Gazette
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — “The cost of coal sales per ton accelerated an average of 38.9% between 2009 and 2012 among eight major U.S. coal companies analyzed by SNL Energy, highlighting the geological, regulatory and market challenges facing an industry struggling to maintain market share against competing energy sources.
The confluence of low natural gas prices, mild weather and U.S. EPA regulations on coal-fired power plants generated much of the blame when coal markets experienced a swift downturn in 2012. But analysts and coal officials indicated in interviews that challenges closer to the mine are also significantly impacting revenues.
In Central Appalachia, coal seams are thinner and more difficult to reach following decades of underground mining, hindering profitability among coal companies. Less capital-intensive mining methods, like mountaintop removal and surface mining, are under increasing regulatory scrutiny by the U.S. EPA.
‘During the last presidential election, you heard a lot about the ‘war on coal’ referring to regulations on utilities,’ Arch Coal Inc.‘s Kent Smith said during a presentation at the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in March. ‘But you could also use that phrase to describe what’s happening within the mines themselves and the whole battery of regulations we’re facing.’”
— Darren Epps, SNL
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 Many coal plants are now operating at far lower capacity in 2012 than they were back in 2007. WASHINGTON, DC — “Here’s some bleak news for the coal industry: As much as 65 percent of the U.S. coal fleet could find itself under threat in the years ahead, thanks to cheap natural gas and stricter air-pollution regulations.
That’s according to a new peer-reviewed study by three researchers at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, who take a detailed look at the costs of operating both coal-fired power plants and natural-gas plants around the United States.
Their conclusion? Coal power is far more economically vulnerable than most analysts have realized to date. Here’s why:
Cheap natural gas is crowding out coal: Already, a glut of cheap natural gas from shale deposits in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere is upending the electricity sector. The researchers found that around 9 percent of the U.S. coal fleet has become uneconomical — it’s now cheaper to burn natural gas for electricity than to keep running those coal plants, which are now slated for retirement.”
— Brad Plumer, Washington Post
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Statewide electricity rates show dramatic differences in Ohio, sometimes even between neighbors
 CELINA, OH — “Most of Ohio’s municipal utilities are members of American Municipal Power, a Columbus-based company that manages energy purchases. AMP encouraged its members to buy shares in several new power plants, including the Prairie State Energy Campus in southwestern Illinois. The project has suffered mechanical problems and budget overruns. They could contribute to future rate increases in the communities that bought into it, including Galion, Cleveland, Hamilton and dozens of others. Columbus’ and Westerville’s utilities did not buy into the plant.
Celina, which owns a small share of Prairie State, has kept its rates low by carefully managing its expenses and because it has a large industrial base for a city its size, said Mayor Jeffrey Hazel. But he gets more complaints about rates than pats on the back.
‘The majority of people, just by human nature, don’t look outside themselves,’ he said. ‘It would be rare for someone from Celina to go outside the city to see what other people pay.’”
— Dan Gearino, Columbus Dispatch
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CHICAGO, IL — “ A group of four city council members, including one from Cleveland, have asked the Ohio Attorney General to launch an investigation into the controversial bond-financed Prairie State Energy Campus that opened last year after cost overruns and delays.
…Ohio-based American Municipal Power, which has a 23% interest in the coal-fired plant, and Peabody Energy Plant, the company that led initial efforts to develop the joint power agency-owned project and later sold most of its share, disclosed within the last two months that they have received SEC subpoenas.
The southern Illinois coal-fired plant, which includes a coal plant and adjacent coal mine, has come under fire for construction delays and cost overruns that drove up the price for energy beyond what public utilities had expected to pay when they bought into the project.
Public utilities in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio issued $4.5 billion of debt, up from original projections of $1.8 billion. The bonds are secured payments from more than 200 municipalities that have contracts with the project.”
— Caitlin Devitt, Bond Buyer
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Letters supporting the Fracking Emergency Medical Right to Know Act 7,672 neighbors have sent handwritten letters and made personal phone calls urging state legislators to support the Fracking Emergency Medical Right to Know Act as of May 14, 2013.
Ohio coal-fired power plants
Letters to Senator Sherrod Brown and Senator Rob Portman 6,615 members have sent handwritten letters and petitions to Senator Brown urging him to support US EPA rules that will protect our health from polluting coal plants as of January 24, 2012.
3,751 members have petitioned Senator Portman urging him to support US EPA rules that will protect our health from polluting coal plants as of January 24, 2012.
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