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March 25, 2004Biologist: Plant will endanger watersAnother public hearing is set for tonightByRecord-Eagle staff writer MANISTEE - Bud Raskey has seen a lot of changes in 75 years of fishing Manistee Lake and Lake Michigan. These days, the charter fishing guide from Stronach worries that pollutants from a proposed coal-burning power plant will add more stress to the area's ecosystems. "I'd hate like hell to see anymore mercury going into our water," Raskey said. "We have too much now and it's just going to get worse." A state Department of Natural Resources fisheries management biologist agrees, saying pollution from the proposed Northern Lights plant would have an adverse impact on Lake Michigan and inland waters throughout the county, jeopardizing its estimated $2.5 million sport-fishing industry. In a recent letter to Manistee officials, Mark Tonello urged them to seriously consider the environmental issues surrounding Manistee Saltworks/Tondu Corp.'s proposal to build the 425-megawatt facility on the shores of Manistee Lake. Manistee's planning commission is nearing a decision on whether to grant a special use permit for the project. Tondu touts the project as an economic boon to Manistee and surrounding communities. During a public meeting at 7 p.m. today at Manistee Middle School, planners also will hear details of a report they requested from MACTEC, a Georgia-based environmental consulting firm with offices in Cadillac and Novi. Project opponents say the plant would emit up to 4,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and hundreds of pounds of mercury each year, which tops Tonello's list of concerns. Tondu spokeswoman Deborah Muchmore said federal guidelines would restrict emissions of mercury to less than 80 pounds per year. "I can't speak to the numbers on pollutants except to say the mercury emissions from Northern Lights would be minor," she added. "Northern Lights will meet all state and federal requirements or permits will not be forthcoming." Tonello says mercury from the plant's coal-combustion process would settle in Lake Michigan and inland waters throughout the county, including Portage, Bear and Manistee lakes. In the Manistee area, there already are contamination-based consumption advisories for walleye in Lake Michigan south of Frankfort; black crappie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and walleye in Manistee Lake and largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike in Portage Lake. "Clearly, fish contamination due to mercury is already a major problem in the Manistee area," Tonello wrote. Tonello also is concerned about what the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide could mean for the lakes, the fish that live there and wildlife species that need them to survive. Raskey said he can't support a plan to build a plant that could have a negative impact on the lake near his home. "It's changed so much, it's pathetic," he said. "And if it changes that much in the next 50 years, there won't be anything left."
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