Ricky Junquera, ricky.junquera@sierraclub.org, (617) 599-7048
DETROIT - Last Friday, Sierra Club filed a brief in the Ingham County Circuit Court case on DTE’s nearly billion-dollar proposed gas plant, arguing that MDEQ did not follow the law when approving the air permit. Sierra Club initiated this case in October, but this is the first time it has laid out its arguments for the Court. The organization is represented in the case by its own Environmental Law Program, along with Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and the law firm Olson Bzdok & Howard.
The St. Clair County areas surrounding the location of DTE’s planned gas plant are already failing federal health standards for both sulfur dioxide and ozone. Although MDEQ does not have plans in place to address these problems, it has now permitted yet another source that will contribute to the area’s poor air quality.
“MDEQ allowed DTE to shirk the more rigorous permitting requirements that apply where an area is already failing federal health standards,” said Regina Strong, Michigan Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “This is one of several ongoing issues with DTE’s proposed gas plant. Cutting corners and tying communities to fossil fuels for another generation is not the answer.
“Consumers Energy’s long-range plan is one example showing that it is cheaper in the long run to invest in renewable energy instead. Consumers’ analysis shows that it is cheaper to build and maintain renewable forms of energy compared to the building of new gas generation. DTE needs to take their foot off the gas, and think about our future.”
The air permit appeal is not the only legal hurdle for DTE’s gas plant. Last week, at the Michigan Court of Appeals hearing on the Public Service Commission’s approval of DTE’s proposed gas plant, Earthjustice attorney Shannon Fisk highlighted the substantial deficiencies in DTE’s request to shift to its customers all of the financial risks of the nearly billion-dollar gas plant. To justify this request for “pre-approval” to charge customers for the cost of the plant, DTE needed to demonstrate that the gas plant was the “most reasonable and prudent” option in comparison to renewable energy, energy efficiency, demand response, storage, and other options. Although the Public Service Commission found serious flaws in DTE’s evaluation of each of these alternatives, the Commission approved DTE’s request in a decision that Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Michigan Environmental Council contended was unlawful and unreasonable.
“This underscores the need to be wary of a rush to gas as Michigan and the nation transitions toward more clean energy, instead of investing in dirty fossil fuels." said Ariana Gonzalez, Senior Energy Policy Analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The organizations mounting the legal challenge to the Public Service Commission approval include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Michigan Environmental Council. The groups are represented by Earthjustice and Michigan-based law firm Olson, Bzdok & Howard.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.