Latest News
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04.15.04 |
VICTORY: The Manistee Planning Commission voted unanimously to
deny a special use permit for a proposed coal-fired power plant
in Manistee.
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more...
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04.01.04 |
On
Thursday, the Manistee Planning Commission voted to draft a
resolution denying the special use permit for the Northern
Lights Project. A final vote is expected on April 15.
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Background
When a
group of citizens in and around Manistee, Michigan learned of plans
to construct a 20-story, 425-megawatt coal-fired power plant in
their town, it wasn't exactly music to their ears. Spearheaded by
the Tondu Corporation of Houston, Texas and the Michigan Public
Power Agency, the project (dubbed "Northern Lights) was billed as an
economic boon for an area short on good-paying jobs. Unimpressed
with promises of economic salvation and alarmed over health, environmental, and economic impacts of the project, citizens
quickly organized to beat back the plan.
Led by
Manistee Citizens for Responsible Development (CFRD), the Little
River Band of Ottawa Indians, and aided by organizers from
Sweetwater Alliance North and members of the Sierra Club, the
coalition soon proved to be as powerful as it was diverse. Members
of the coalition canvassed neighborhoods to organize opposition to
the project, held forums to educate nearby communities, and applied
pressure to local elected officials. Hundreds were organized to turn
out for weekly Planning Commission meetings, where experts and
laypersons gave hours of testimony regarding a key permit required
for the project.
On
April 1, word came of a possible victory. Rejecting an extension by
the Tondu Corporation, the Planning Commission moved to draft a
resolution denying the required Special Use Permit. Citing the
project's scope and size, burden on city services, and impacts
on health, the environment, and economy, planners are set to
officially reject the project on April 15.
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