The Indian River Power Plant, Delaware’s worst polluter.

Last week I started getting e-mails from various sources telling me about another public hearing in Millsboro over the issuance of a permit for the Indian River Power Plant, Delaware’s worst polluter. This time, the permit was over a proposed “Activated Carbon Injection” system designed to reduce mercury emissions from the smokestacks.

I thought, “Less mercury? Woo hoo!” But then, I started getting e-mails from various environmental groups that were filled with cautions over the plan. I didn’t get it. But now, unfortunately, I do.

NRG’s plan is to use an “Activated Carbon Injection” system to trap mercury, which is great, and apparently cost effective. What isn’t great is that when the system is saturated, the mercury infused waste will be dumped in the fly ash pile already on the plant’s site. An ash pile that has no barrier between it and the ground, it isn’t covered, and it isn’t equipped to handle toxic waste. So basically the mercury can leech into the ground, or it can simply fly off the top of the uncovered ash pile.

“A new solid waste is going to be generated and where and how this waste is managed is really a significant issue for the public.” ~ John Austin, Citizens for Clean Power AUDIO

(As an aside, it seems that even though studies are showing that fly ash piles are indeed toxic, the EPA is just getting around to thinking about it, meanwhile the piles are not regulated by either the EPA or DNREC, but what the heck, substances like arsenic couldn’t be dangerous, right?)

41st District Representative Greg Hastings, the only legislator who bothered to show up for the hearing.

“From sitting here tonight, it just makes me more aware of the work I need to do.” ~ 41st District Representative Greg Hastings AUDIO

And while an NRG Energy Representative assured the crowd the plant wanted to be a “good neighbor,” years of the facility thwarting regulations has left some, shall we say, “skeptical.”

Three representatives from NRG Energy in Millsboro. I’m showing them sitting down from behind because I’m so nice.

“You did stand here and say you want to be a “good neighbor.” I’m going to look in your face and I’m going to say, “As a physician who deals with cancer patients you be a “good neighbor,” do not fight these people, do not fight us by saying you won’t put it in a lined fly ash pit.” Do you like to sleep at night? Do you?” ~ Dr. Kim Furtado to NRG Representatives at the hearing AUDIO

Michael Fiorentino from the Mid Atlantic Environmental Law Center attended the hearing to ask questions. I think he was hired by one or more of the citizens groups in the area. I spoke with Mr. Fiorentino after the hearing to get his take on the plan:

“Our primary concern here tonight was that in the effort to control one dangerous pollutant we don’t end up squeezing that pollution out in another form.” ~ Michael Fiorentino, Mid Atlantic Environmental Law Center AUDIO

There were a few speakers who surprised me. One was a man named Brooks Freeman from Lewes:

“I’ve only spent 6 months of my entire life away from this area. I’ve never smoked, and I’ve never drank. I am a cancer survivor.” ~ Brooks Freeman AUDIO

The other was a Thomas Sullivan, a Millsboro resident:

“Three years ago my doctor warned me not to eat one fish out of the Indian River.” ~ Thomas Sullivan AUDIO

Now, I’ve got to say that the best part of the evening was when I stood up and tried to ask some questions, and for the record, I was extraordinarily polite. AUDIO But unfortunately, Hearing Officer, Robert Haynes of DNREC told me “No, no, no” and said I could ask DNREC and NRG questions after the hearing was over. I guess they didn’t want me on the record.

Well, Mr. Haynes denying me the right to ask questions really ticked off a woman in the crowd that I never saw before, and who left before I could find out who she was. I want to thank her for standing up for me like that. I found Mr. Haynes response to her unsettling, to say the least. Apparently, I’m not a “member of the public.”

“She’s a member of the press, she’s not a member of the public.” ~ DNREC Hearing Official Robert Haynes, ruling that I’m not a member of the public, and therefore I have no right to ask questions in a DNREC public hearing. AUDIO OF MY RIGHTS BEING DENIED BY A BUREAUCRAT

Now, just to add a little salt to the wound, after the hearing, the three NRG Representatives went squirrelly. One disappeared immediately, and the other two refused to answer my questions. And yeah, I have audio of the NRG people blowing me off. AUDIO OF NRG EMPLOYEES REFUSING TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS

For the record, here are the horrifying questions I was going to ask DNREC and NRG Energy

1. What is the total amount of mercury in pounds or tons put out by the IRPP per year.

2. Are you (NRG) using the cleaner burning coal now? What kind of coal are you currently burning?

3. What percentage of NRG’s electricity is contracted to Delaware energy companies, how much goes to out of state contracts?

4. Is the 80% reduction based on total output or is it for each unit?

5. How often will emissions be tested, by whom, and is NRG responsible for telling DNREC they aren’t in compliance? Who tells DNREC if there is a violation?

6. Tell us about the erosion around the fly ash pit, is the seawall compromised? Why isn’t it lined or covered? Are fly ash pits regulated by the EPA or DNREC?

7. Will NRG be “mothballing” Units 1 & 2 on schedule?

8. What is the public comment time frame?

Yes, all scandalous and out of line. No wonder DNREC Hearing Officer, Robert Haynes shut me down. HERE’S A SCANNED COPY OF MY NOTEBOOK PAGES WITH THE SCARY QUESTIONS.

So, I have been officially ruled “not a member of the public” by DNREC. And here I was walking around like I had the right to ask questions about a state permit for a facility in my backyard and in the backyard of the people in WGMD’s listening area.

Shame on me.

Incidentally, the NRG Representatives told Mr. Haynes that they have to have the permit in three weeks which means no opportunity for the public to digest what went on Wednesday night, and then add their comments to the record for consideration.

Senator Harris McDowell’s wind farm hearings may have cost the tax payers a bundle in DC lawyers and expert witnesses, but today, those few days of hearings resulted in a report, a long report. And long must mean it’s good. You can read it HERE.

That report was immediately refuted by a Minority Report put out by members of the same committee. You can see where other Senators are in disagreement with that report HERE.

But the report that everyone seems to ignore, is the Public Service Commission’s final staff report that is based on over a year of hearings, negotiations, studies, and the work of several independent consultants. That report, for those of you who can handle it, is HERE.

Meanwhile, Pat Gearity from Citizens for Clean Power is asking the Senate Energy and Transit Committee for the MOTHER LOAD of information about what they’re doing and the money they’re spending.

More to come…

It was on Down with Absolutes first, then it was linked by Delaware Liberal, and it made me say, “Wow.”

“It was March 30th at 8:29 pm when a DWA post destroyed Gene Reed’s chances of being the next insurance commissioner.    You’d never know it if you relied on the News Journal for political news.” -jason330, Delawareliberal.net        

Click HERE to check out the campaign contributions going to Gene Reed.   Who knew that so many out of state people would donate $1,200 to a guy running for Delaware Insurance Commissioner?

One of the topics that infiltrates our airwaves, at least during my program, is that of drug abuse. Lately, particularly vicodin, oxy, perkocet, etc… Heck, we’ve even done topics on Poppy Seed Tea. One plauge that we rarely discuss, however, I hear it’s huge in Western Sussex and all across the country for that matter is the scourge of Crystal Meth.

I want you to check out a documentary I caught on Youtube called “Crystal Darkness” — I’m contemplating playing segments of the program on the air in a series. Here’s some information on the documentary from Al Tompkins:

“Originally produced for Reno TV stations in January 2007, “Crystal Darkness” used interviews with addicts from all walks of life, graphic images of the damage done and sobering violent-crime statistics. It also provided a toll-free number for people to get help.

The program that ran on all Reno stations proved so popular, says producer Mike Reynolds, a Reno advertising executive, that other communities sought localized versions of the documentary.

In May in Las Vegas, 50 percent of the households tuned in to the documentary, according Nielsen ratings. In August, 25 stations in five Oregon cities broadcast the documentary, and newspaper reports say the toll-free number was flooded with calls. And in December, San Diego stations blanketed the airwaves.”

Here are the parts of the Documentary from youtube.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

Recently at a public hearing we learned that the Delaware Department of Natural Resources hands out permits that are, shall we say, “lax.”

Click HERE for the official transcript of the Indian River Power Plant’s water discharge hearing released by DNREC so you can read the word for word account of the meeting. I would really suggest reading it, it doesn’t take long at all.

I’m nominating this fish to be the mascot of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources

Now, we have less than 30 days to contact DNREC and voice our opinions about the permit they let expire 16 years ago and their new permit that allows a daily average of “1,803 pounds” of oil and grease and a daily maximum of 3,605 pounds of oil and grease out of one outfall. On top of that it allows for things like “60 pounds of copper” a day to be discharged, which DNREC admits is “toxic” to marine life…really, read the transcript.

We can also tell DNREC that since many of us enjoy fishing and crabbing in our local waters, we’d like the department in charge of protecting our state’s natural resources to be a little more concerned about the estimated 600,000 blue crab, 3.2 million bay anchovies, 543,733 croaker and 834,775 winter flounder the plant killed over a two year period.

Those are fish that people could be cursing at as they break their lines or if they’re lucky, they could be eating them if the plant would just get with the 21st Century, or even the last decades of the 20th Century….

The technology is available to lessen the impact of the plant on its surroundings, and if DNREC and/or NRG Energy would like to argue that they are too cost prohibitive, then they should tell us exactly how much the stuff costs and what the cost breakdown would be for the everyone on the grid who gets power from the plant, cause it ain’t just Delawareans (though Delawareans carry the full burden of the plant’s pollution).

And seriously, our county, state and federal governments need to hear from you, too. That’s why I’m posting some contact information. Just click on a name or copy an e-mail address and you’ll be on your way to venting at our dysfunctional government:

The Governor:

Governor Ruth Ann Minner

Delaware Department of Natural Resources:

DNREC Secretary John Hughes John.Hughes@state.de.us

Director, Division of Water Resources Katherine Bunting-Howarth Katherine.Howarth@state.de.us

This is the guy who is officially taking public comment about the water discharge permit at the Indian River Power Plant, so you can’t leave him out:

Hearing Officer:
Robert Haynes
89 King’s Highway
Dover, DE 19901
(302) 739-9039
Robert.Haynes@state.de.us

Delaware House of Representatives:

14th District Representative Pete Schwartzkopf Rehoboth Beach: Peter.Schwartzkopf@state.de.us

35th District Representative Benjamin Ewing Bridgeville

36th District Representative George Carey Milford

37th District Representative Joseph Booth Georgetown: Joseph.Booth@state.de.us

38th District Representative Gerald Hocker Ocean View: Gerald.Hocker@state.de.us

39th District Representative Daniel Short Seaford

40th District Representative “Biff” Lee Laurel: biff.lee@state.de.us

41st District Representative Greg Hastings Millsboro: greg.hastings@state.de.us

Delaware Senate:

18th District Senator Gary Simpson Milford: gsimpson@udel.edu

19th District Senator Thurman Adams, Jr. Bridgeville: Thurman.Adams@state.de.us

20th District Senator George Bunting, Jr. Bethany Beach: George.Bunting@state.de.us

21st District Senator Robert Venables, Sr. Laurel: Robert.Venables@state.de.us

Our Congressman:

Congressman Mike Castle

Our Senators:

Senator Tom Carper
Senator Joe Biden

So,I tried to get a meeting with John Hughes the Director of DNREC…

“It’s our job to ensure these plants have the permits they need.”

Tuesday morning I called DNREC to talk to John Hughes, the Director, and I was sent to the Director of Water Resources, Katherine Bunting-Howarth. I asked her straight forward questions about the amount of…stuff…their permit allowed the Indian River Power Plant to spew from its water discharge outfalls.

“Its our job to ensure these plants have the permits they need.” - Katherine Bunting-Howarth, Director of Water Resources, Delaware Department of Natural Resources

(Again, the permit I was asking about was the replacement for a permit that expired 16 years ago, not, of course, that I’m implying that DNREC isn’t doing its “job”…).

I asked Bunting-Howarth to let me come up to Dover to interview her, and she indicated that she wanted Peder Hansen there, and we could possibly do it Wednesday at around 8:30 a.m. and that she would call to confirm the interview.

The confirmation call came from Joanne Wilson, a public information officer, who wanted to know what questions I was going to ask, and basically how the station was going to use the interview.

The last call I received was from Joanne canceling the meeting, with no idea when they could reschedule, or when they could get back to me.

Hopefully I’ll hear from them since many of our listeners and readers are the Indian River Power Plant’s neighbors. And really, just because DNREC didn’t post the information about the public hearing on their website or the State’s website, and just because the information that they DID send out had the meeting place listed at a Senior Center that doesn’t exist, that doesn’t mean DNREC is trying to keep information from the public.

Maybe they’d just rather give the interview to someone who doesn’t live near the plant and isn’t walking around in shock and disbelief after attending the public hearing…or maybe DNREC is just too darn busy making sure everything Delaware’s worst polluters want to do is perfectly legal….

More to come including some political reaction…

But bummer for DNREC, I can still type…

What’s a few million dead fish every year between friends? Or between Delaware’s worst polluter and the local citizens they stick it to every day?

DNREC, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources, had a meeting Thursday night in Millsboro and the topic was the permit that allows the Indian River Power Plant to suck in and discharge its surrounding waters for cooling, a practice that results in millions of fish, shellfish and other assorted aquatic life killed every year.

In a two year study done for NRG Energy, Inc., the company that owns the plant, a whopping 600,000 blue crab, 543,733 croaker, 834,775 winter flounder and over 3.2 million bay anchovy were killed along with thousands of spot and Atlantic menhaden.

Interestingly, other fish like striped bass, trout, sea bass, minnows, rays, sharks, etc…were not even included in the study, because they’re not considered “Representative Important Species.” Yeah, you read that right, rockfish and bluefish aren’t considered “Representative Important Species.”

Alan Muller of Green Delaware Thursday night in Millsboro. In this picture he’s holding up the State’s schedule of public hearings noting that the hearing we were all sitting in was mysteriously missing from the list.

And this is classic, DNREC seems to think that the huge number of fish killed every year by the plant poses no “appreciable harm to fish and shellfish of the Indian River Watershed.” But when Alan Muller of Green Delaware questioned the DNREC officials about what “appreciable harm” even meant, they had to admit they didn’t even know… AUDIO clip that you have to hear to believe.

Then Muller brings up the pesky fact that DNREC’s permit allows NRG Engery to include “1,800 pounds of oil and grease into that discharge.” And that basically under the permit the plant could intentionally dump oil and grease into the waterways and it would be “legal.” (I know what you’re thinking, “Maria has lost her mind, she just can’t have that right,” but I’m correct and here’s the horrifying AUDIO CLIP to prove it. Enjoy the part where the DNREC guy trys to thank Muller for his “comment” without answering his question).

Then there was John Austin who pointed out the high levels of arsenic found around the plant and talked about the increased cancer risk associated with eating fish exposed to the toxin. Austin went on to say that the permit proposed by DNREC doesn’t even address the arsenic levels in the Indian River Power Plant’s discharge. AUDIO

Greg Hastings was at the hearing, and he was less than thrilled with what he witnessed.

“If I tell you I’m disappointed…that’s an understatement.” - 41st District Representative Greg Hastings AUDIO

Did I even mention yet that the permit the Indian River Power Plant has been operating under expired 16 years ago and has been extended “administratively” ever since? Or how DNREC judges the fish kills to be acceptable by comparing them to the number of fish in the entire Atlantic fishery? Or the huge amounts of heavy metals released in the discharge?

And let me just add this: Sussex Countians endure the Indian River Power Plant polluting our air, water, land and the fish and shellfish we eat, while NRG Energy sells the power generated by the Plant into the grid. On top of that, DNREC, the state agency that is supposed to be protecting the fine people of the State of Delaware, doles out permits to the plant that are so permissive that NRG Energy can basically do anything and still be in compliance. But don’t you ever catch and keep a fish that’s one inch too short or you can be fined and/or arrested.

So everyone breathe a sigh of relief because DNREC is looking out for our waterways and the local fish we eat…but please don’t breathe too deeply because DNREC monitors our air quality, and I was being totally sarcastic about the whole “breathe a sigh of relief” thing.

Lt. Governor John Carney at Senator Harris McDowell’s wind farm hearings.

Last month, Lt. Governor John Carney announced that the State of Delaware and Babcock & Brown, the parent company of Bluewater Wind, had reached a deal that would make Delaware a regional hub for East Coast wind farm operations. AUDIO

Today, Carney announced an agreement with Bluewater Wind to “help develop a workforce training program” for wind farm workers:

Lt. Governor John Carney announced today that Bluewater Wind and its parent company, Babcock & Brown, have committed to partner with a two-year college, such as Delaware Technical & Community College, to develop a regional training program for wind turbine maintenance technicians, provided approval of the proposed wind farm project. Babcock & Brown’s commitment includes a $150,000 grant to help Del Tech develop this program, as well as significant contributions in the way of technical expertise.

“This is a great opportunity for our State and the many students who will benefit from such a training program,” said Lt. Governor John Carney. “The wind power industry is set to grow rapidly over the next few decades, and with Babcock & Brown’s previous commitment to locate their regional hub in Delaware, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of high-paying jobs will need to be filled. This partnership would create the skilled workforce here in Delaware that Babcock & Brown, as well as other companies in the industry, will need to meet their demand.”

Carney deserves some credit. The last big idea knocked around to bring new industry to the State was when Congressman Mike Castle wanted to make Delaware a biotech hub (an idea that went down in flames like the Hindenburg). Other than that, all you ever seem to hear about is expanding casino gambling, (Representative Vince Lofink is pushing for sports betting and roulette is coming to the casinos this fall).

This is really some innovative thinking, and it means jobs and job training…I like the idea of new jobs for the State that don’t require learning how to balance five whiskey sours on a tray….

The attending three out of six members of the Delaware Senate’s Energy and Transit Committee.

The ground rules were you had to be polite, you had five minutes, and you had to tell the committee what electric company you used at Thursday night’s Energy and Transit Committee hearing about the wind farm project that would sit 11.5 miles off of Rehoboth Beach’s shore. The Senate Chamber was standing room only, and three out of six of the committee members were in attendance. Some of the members of the General Assembly who showed up to listen to the proceedings were Representatives Gerald Hocker and John Kowalko, and Senator George Bunting.

Delmarva Power & Light President Gary Stockbridge was on hand for the Senate hearings and was glad that the public was getting a chance to comment. He’s also gotta be a little mad that a state government passed a law in 2006 telling his company who to buy power from, but state governments pass laws regulating business a lot.

(If you click on someone’s name, you’ll get their statement to the committee, or in the case of candidates or energy company representatives, the statement given to me outside of the hearings).

Governor Russ Peterson

This was the only night of hearings where the public could speak, and former Governor Russ Peterson was the first at the podium. He voiced his support for the project.

“Little states aren’t limited to doing little jobs, little states can do big jobs, too. That’s what our forefathers did when they made little Delaware the First State.” - former Governor Russ Peterson

Chad Tolman from the Sierra Club, Alan Muller from Green Delaware, bloggers Tom Noyes from Tommywonk and Nancy Willing from The Delaware Way, Lt. Governor John Carney, Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Protack, Dave Walsh from the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council which represents 22 trade unions, and Pat Gearity, a local lawyer, were among the many people who turned out to support the offshore wind farm project.

Lt. Governor John Carney was there to show support for the project. Earlier this month Carney helped negotiate a deal where Bluewater Wind would establish a hub in Delaware that would result in jobs for the state.

Among those voicing opposition to the project were Ed Ratledge from the University of Delaware, Bernadette Winston, a Wilmington Community Center Director, a representative from the Local 1238, which includes DP & L union workers, Charles Boncelet from the University of Delaware, and private citizen Tim Bond, who cited the “lack of fairness” in a process that, among other things, wouldn’t reopen bidding so Conectiv could bid a wind farm project, too.

Charles Boncelet from the University of Delaware was there to speak out against the project.

An out of state speaker, Barbara Hill, made a compelling statement in favor of offshore wind power. The organization that she represents, Clean Power Now, is the group fighting Senator Ted Kennedy in an attempt to make Cape Cod the site of the nation’s first offshore wind farm. Hill said that she would love the competition from Delaware to see who would be first in offshore wind.

One of the interesting things I learned during the hearings was that a nuclear power plant in the north east had to shut down during the drought this past summer because they didn’t have coolant water. I never knew that could happen. And probably my favorite moment was when Sussex Countian Hal Alpiar explained to the Committee how he had to regularly wipe the soot from around his home that sits “two miles as the crow flies,” from the Indian River Power Plant, a story I’ve heard a million times from county residents.

Some of the rhetorical questions brought up by speakers to the Committee were why the Senate needed to hold hearings when the PSC held extensive hearings over the same topic just last year, why there wasn’t more competition in the process, and why the Senate would stop a process that it mandated less than two years ago.

This body passed a law, this body implemented a law, and I call on this body to follow the law.” -Pat Gearity

After the hearing, I spoke with Jim Lanard from Bluewater Wind and he was very upbeat about the future of the wind farm project and was “moved” by all of the public support.

The next hearing will be Wednesday, February 13th at Legislative Hall, and speakers will include the Public Service Commission and the Public Advocate. If you’d like to tell the Energy and Transit Committee what you think, you can click HERE for a list of the members and how to reach them.

The intersection where an SUV collided with an ambulance.

I received an e-mail tonight from Judson Bennett and his Coastal Conservative Network that contains an all too familiar description of someone being hospitalized at Beebe Hospital in Lewes:

A friend of mine called me this a.m. and informed me that he had been hospitalized at Beebe yesterday, What was very interesting about the discussion I had with him was:
(a) for lack of any hospital rooms, he had been placed in a single room with six other patents;
(b) he noticed that other patients (not as fortunate as he) had been placed on stretchers up and down the corridors;
(c) a situation he thought Beebe was over-saturated with patients, lacked adequate in-patient facilities and, as well, was under-staffed.

Exactly. But let’s be honest, the problems go way beyond just overcrowding. Back in October, Dr. J. Ludwicki, a pediatrician who practices in Lewes and Milton, expressed his frustration over the way Sussex County newborns in distress sometimes wait 4 or more hours to get transfered to Christiana Hospital in New Castle County to receive critical life saving treatments. Most of the people I speak with in Sussex have no idea this situation even exists until something goes desperately wrong when someone around them gives birth.

As it stands now, if you have a baby in one of the County’s three hospitals and there’s a problem, you have to wait for the state’s only transport team, located at the Christiana Hospital, to come and take your baby to a higher level of emergency care. That would be either Kent General in Dover, a Level 2 facility, or Christiana, a Level 3 facility. The wait can take hours and hours….

And yes, the state has only one transport team. One. And that team could be in New Jersey transporting a baby when a baby with serious health issues is born here in Sussex. The team does have access to a helicopter, but a number of weather factors and the cost make the ambulance trip the more usual method.

Just last week I covered the terrible story of a Sussex County paramedic and two Millsboro EMTs who were stopped at an intersection off of Rt. 5 when their ambulance was hammered by an SUV. The SUV driver was dead at the scene. One of the EMTs, despite his injuries, dragged his damaged body to the side of the paramedic who had been ejected from the rear of the ambulance, and with the help of the other EMT, kept him alive until an ambulance arrived, then passed out.

Two members of the ambulance crew were in very serious condition and had to be flown to Christiana Hospital, the closest Level 1 trauma center, for critical lifesaving treatment. None of the hospitals in Sussex are over Level 3. Kent General in Dover is Level 2. It’s the same as the neonatal situation. Thankfully, the crew is home and on the mend.

And in Sussex we all know not to have a life threatening medical emergency on a Friday afternoon in August on the east side of the County. I can’t help wondering what effect the Townsend Village Centre, which will sit on one of the two main roads into Lewes, will have on the already stressed roadways around Beebe Hospital.

There’s a huge healthcare problem brewing in Sussex County, and something needs to be done about it now.

I’m sure we can totally trust companies to go by the honor system when it comes to reporting violations, after all, they always jump to comply with clean air regulations the state passes. (COUGH COUGH)

This is so…typical…for our ridiculously dysfunctional state:

In Delaware, home of some of the biggest air polluters in the country, the state’s air quality management program remains underfunded and understaffed, leaving the reporting of violations up to the companies doing the polluting.

Now, think about it, as citizens, our speed driving down Delaware’s roads is monitored (probably about 2 million times) more than the harmful toxins like mercury spewing from “some of the biggest air polluters in the country.”