BRIEF ...

BWL activates equipment to reduce mercury emissions

The Lansing Board of Water & Light has finally activated equipment it installed in 2007 that will reduce mercury emissions at the Erickson Power Plant.

The Activated Carbon Injection system is being operated at a rate designed to reduce mercury emissions by approximately 90 percent. The first few months of operating the ACI system at Erickson will involve testing various carbon compounds and injection rates to help optimize the system’s performance.

City Pulse broke the story in July that BWL had not operated the equipment to save money.

According to a Monday press release, operating the ACI at Erickson will cost BWL $1.5 million a year. The utility will also incur approximately $600,000 year in costs due to lost sales of fly ash and corresponding landfill expenses.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the Erickson plant, just east of General Motors Delta Assembly Plant, releases 25 to 27 pounds of mercury into the atmosphere each year.

“The BWL has been and continues to be in full compliance with all state and federal air emission regulations and expects to be in full compliance with future environmental regulations,” said BWL General Manager J. Peter Lark.

BWL says steps it has taken like building the REO Town Cogeneration Plan has resulted in a reduced carbon footprint by 20 percent systemwide.

~ Belinda Thurston

...and Briefer

An Ingham County sheriff´s deputy died on Sunday when his car hit a tree in Stockbridge during a chase. No arrests as of Tuesday; state police are investigating . … MSU´s eighthranked Spartan football team was picked to play fourth-ranked Baylor in the New Year´s Day Cotton Bowl. Fifth-ranked Ohio State, the Spartans only loss, are playing first-ranked Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. … A Lansing Township police officer fatally shot a man on Monday during a traffic stop. Michigan State Police are investigating. … .Douglas J. may finally have cleared the way for its stalled headquarters in Okemos. The cost of reworking high voltage power lines adjacent to the proposed site (the old Traveler´s Club), the reason for the delay, has declined from $1.4 million to less than $400,000. ... Auto supplier Kirchhoff Van-Rob will open a plant in Watertown Township in 2015 producing parts for General Motors and other automakers. It comes with 125 new jobs. ... Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette´s suit to stop the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians proposed Lansing casino was dismissed in federal court in exchange for an agreement not to stop suits against tribal leaders.

~Mickey Hirten