Deal sought to end ship’s coal ash dumping by 2015

Associated Press ^ | Sep 13, 2013 9:53 PM EDT

[Olog-hai]

The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency agreed to enter a revised consent agreement with a ferry operator that would stop the nation’s last coal-fired ferryboat from dumping waste ash into Lake Michigan before the start of the 2015 sailing season.

A federal judge has to approve Friday’s motion, the Ludington Daily News reported.

Lake Michigan Carferry, operator of the S.S. Badger, wants to install an ash retention system aboard the ship that hauls passengers, vehicles and cargo between its home port of Ludington, Mich., and Manitowoc, Wis., from May to October. Currently, ash from its boilers is mixed with water and piped overboard. More than 500 tons of ash is released during a typical season. …

[cripplecreek]

Funny thing is that the EPA does approve dumping coal ash down wells as part of the process of sealing them.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The Badger is the last of her kind.

[iowamark]

Obama hard at work to end domestic coal and oil use.

[cripplecreek]

This fight over the Badger has gone on since very early in the reign of Obama.

If I recall correctly the Badger’s only competitor was given subsidies to upgrade to natural gas or something but the Badger was denied.

[mountn man]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiGxuaF2-kA

[hinckley buzzard]

I took the Badger from WI to MI a couple years back. Nice leisurely four hour ride with car that obviated driving all the way around the southern end of Lake Michigan. Refreshments including drinks are available. On a ride like that you get a very useful impression of how large the Great Lakes really are-- even just going crosswise, you lose sight of land for a good while. A few tons of ash per trip seems like nothing given the volume of the lake and its depth.

[stranger and pilgrim]

We’ve taken it a couple of times, too. It’s a really cool experience, but they are right. That coal ash is nasty. We made the mistake of trying to sit on the top-back deck on one of our trips. Not a good idea . . .

[VRWCarea51]

They spend all their time and energy on this but won’t do a damned thing about ships entering the Great Lakes then emptying their ballists turning loose invasive species of aquatic critters and plants that are destroying natural balance.

Gobies, snakeheads, zebra mussels etc.

Freaking geniuses!

[NonValueAdded]

From now on, ships are prohibited from dumping ash and must haul ash instead.

[BraveMan]

I’ve ridden on the Badger. It definitely doesn’t haul ash . . .

It’s a leisurely ride.

[alexander_busek]

A few tons of ash per trip seems like nothing given the volume of the lake and its depth.

Given that Lake Michigan has a volume of approx. 5,000 km3, i.e. 5 billion m3, the annual dumping of 500 m3 of slurry represents a mere one-ten billionth of its total volume, i.e. 100 parts per trillion.

Regards,

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The Badger was formerly at home port in Kewaunee. A buddy owned a Carver boat set up for fishing in this harbor and I remember watching the Badger fire up one morning. The coal smoke was enough to blot out the sun...

[norwaypinesavage]

"It’s a leisurely ride."

Actually, it's a barn burner compared with its earlier competition. In the '60s I took a trip on the Ann Arbor Railroad ferry from Menomonie Michigan to Frankfurt Michigan. After a leisurely four hours we approached the shoreline. I gathered my belonging and prepared to depart. It took a while to realize that we were not in Frankfurt. We had merely crossed Green Bay, and still had Lake Michigan to traverse. It took another 9 hours to disembark.