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April 16 2004 Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner The crowd applauds the Manistee Planning Commission after it voted to reject a proposal to build a highly debated coal-burning power plant. MANISTEE: Coal plant shot downByRecord-Eagle staff writer MANISTEE -The city planning commission received a standing ovation when it voted to strike down plans for a coal-burning power plant. The Thursday decision follows months of heated public debate and kills the Manistee Saltworks/Tondu Corp. proposal to build Northern Lights, a 425-megawatt facility on the shores of Manistee Lake. "With the facts presented before us, it was the only decision we could make," commission chairman Roger Yoder said. Planners voted earlier this month to draft a resolution to deny the special-use permit for the plant after finding many "unacceptable" issues surrounding the plan, including mercury emissions and the economic impact the plant could have on the Lake Michigan community. A version of the resolution adopted Thursday night also cited the plan's incompatibility with adjacent land uses, its impact on public services, and substantial public comment and opposition. "The use is not reasonable, nor designed to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community," Erin Kilpatrick, a planning commission consultant, read from the resolution. Tondu president Joe Tondu said he did not know if he would push forward with the plan, either by altering it or filing suit against the city. "It's discouraging right now," he said. "It's really premature to think about litigation. I'm not a big fan." Hundreds of people from across the region gathered at the various public meetings in recent months to speak for or against the $700 million project and Thursday night was no exception. Eric Pyne of Frankfort, who followed the issue from the beginning, worried about what the plant could mean for air quality in his community. "I was concerned about the poison that could have been released by the burning coal," he said. "This is a glorious triumph for democracy." Project proponents said the plant would create jobs, generate as much as $112 million in construction wages and an additional $10 million to $12 million annually into the local economy. Opponents questioned those claims but said they were most concerned about the environmental impact of a plant that would emit 4,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and almost 100 pounds of mercury each year. Fred LaPoint, a member of Manistee Citizens for Responsible Development, said the decision was a positive step forward for the community. "In light of what we already knew, the decision reaffirmed our position," he said. "I'm surprised it took so long for them to see it, too." Another concern for planners followed the city's rejection of Tondu's annual community services fee offer of more than $2 million. The plant could have been exempt from local property taxes, which opponents said should be as high as $16 million a year, if it was developed as a municipally owned facility. A state Department of Natural Resources fisheries management biologist, Mark Tonello, also said pollution from the plant would have an adverse impact on Lake Michigan and inland waters throughout the county, jeopardizing its estimated $2.5 million sport-fishing industry Community development director Jon Rose said he expects the issue to make its way to court. "We've been prepared for a lawsuit since this started, whether it was granted or denied," he added. "It's such a high-profile issue."
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