MORE THOUGHTS ON $OLOMON

WHEN IS BEST NOT THE BEST?

Submitted to Shelton Blog by John Cox Mason County Progressive

Dear Neighbor,

To continue our previous conversation...

Another problem with Solomon Renewable Energy Co. (SREC) is that it would not be using the best available pollution controls. It would use what is called the "best" technology, "Best Available Control Technology" (BACT), but it really isn't. My guess is that the name was chosen to be deliberately confusing. BACT is not the best, but we continually heard ADAGE and friends talking up the great technology that ADAGE would use to attempt to control pollution emissions.

The real best is actually called "max" technology, "Maximum Achievable Control Technology" (MACT). Using MACT, there are still pollution problems, but they are reduced. The big coal power plants use MACT technology and are still quite dirty, so I would call MACT, the best among the not so good.

The size of a proposed plant determines whether BACT or MACT control technology is used. ADAGE was designed to be just barely under the limit for using BACT. Just slightly bigger, and ADAGE would have been forced to use MACT.

MACT costs more, so profit driven organizations will always try to do whatever it takes to increase profits. In this case that means using less effective pollution controls. And yes, it is currently legal, but as is becoming clearer everyday, the laws are not written to really protect you and me or the environment.

The proposed Solomon incinerator is about half the size of what ADAGE was proposing, but if you look at the ORCAA data, it would still put out tons of PM2.5 and all the other toxins directly into the air we breathe. This is not some kind of hypothetical situation dealing with national energy policy and whether incineration is better than coal or nuclear power. This is about our local air and health right here in Shelton. Solomon is willing to do damage to our health for profit. It would be in my backyard and I will fight it.

This proposed new incinerator offers NO benefits to our community (at SREC's own admission, it would provide only 3 additional jobs), and will only increase our health problems (this conclusion is clearly supported by scientific evidence).

What benefits do you see?

What benefits do you see for the people who breathe the air in Shelton?

There are other options for dealing with the waste wood from Simpson's operations besides burning it. The only reason it is not being done is that it reduces profit.

With the technical exception of plant size, how are ADAGE and Solomon not the same? Same pollution. Same motives. Same impact on our health and environment.

This is all about money. The negative impacts of SREC's incinerator are spreadsheet items evaluated by accountants. How many premature deaths are worth the risk? It clearly depends on who you ask. But, at present, they are not asking us.

We are attempting to motivate a reevaluation of $pread$heet priorities.

John

Link to previous related post "SOME THOUGHTS ON $OLOMON":
http://masoncountyprogressive.blogspot.com/2011/05/some-thoughts-on-olomon.html