Industries 
From: "Pembina Institute" <news@pembina.org
Date: September 19, 2011 4:00:18 PM MDT (CA)
Help stop Alberta from building a dirty new coal plant
I first emailed you during the last federal election campaign with a look inside the top issues for voters concerned about Canadian energy and environmental policy. We're now expanding the focus of the Pembina Insider to bring you updates about critically important issues and strategic opportunities to support sustainable energy solutions.
Today, I'm writing to let you know that we have a strategic opportunity to stop a new dirty coal plant from being built in Canada just ahead of new federal regulations that would limit to limit greenhouse gas pollution from such facilities. If the coal plant goes ahead, it risks undermining those new rules.
We can stop this plant, but we need your help
Here's the situation. - Maxim Power, the company behind the new coal plant, is racing against the clock to get its plant built just in time to avoid having to comply with the new federal regulations. If Maxim succeeds, Albertans will be stuck with a new coal plant that has a 45-year free pass to pollute, and Canadians will have 135 million more tonnes of heat-trapping emissions in the atmosphere to worry about.
Earlier this year, the company's lawyers wrote a letter to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), asking it to forego a public hearing and rush ahead with its approval, stating:
"Maxim requires an approval from the AUC as soon as possible and no later than June 30th, 2011 in order to qualify as an Existing Plant under this new federal legislation. Maxim has no chance to complete the power plant expansion by July 1, 2015, unless it receives an approval from the AUC by June 30, 2011."
Sure enough, on June 30, Maxim got the AUC's approval. But we're determined to make sure that was the easy part. Pembina has been leading the charge. We started fighting this battle back in March, by writing letters to key decision-makers calling for a public hearing into the environmental impacts of the project, getting the story into the news, and working behind the scenes to get other environmental advocates involved. We’ve even taken legal action against the provincial regulator that decided to approve the plant in the first place, a step that Pembina doesn't take lightly.
We think all of the time and attention we've been devoting to this fight is warranted because of the risk.
At a time when Ontario is phasing out coal, Alberta is approving new and completely unmitigated coal plants. If it goes ahead, the new Maxim Power plant will produce 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas
emissions every year for the next 45 years (that's roughly equivalent to putting 590,000 vehicles on Alberta's roads), and release at least 6,000 tonnes of toxic pollutants, like mercury, into the air each year.
Alberta doesn't need this coal plant. And together we can make sure it never gets built. The fight to stop this coal plant is gaining momentum. The message is getting out, and growing public pressure has drawn a promising response from the federal government.
Environment Minister Peter Kent recently told the Canadian Press that he was paying attention to the outcry from Canadians who are concerned about Maxim Power's efforts to avoid the new federal
emissions rules.
"It was never the intention to create a loophole for short-cutters to get in and get a half-century licence to emit greenhouse gases or to put other toxins into the air which have serious impacts on Canadians living downwind," Kent said. "I'm sending a strong message that Canadians don't want that to happen, and these regs weren't designed to allow it to happen."
The minister's tough talk was a pleasant surprise (and we told him so), since he said nothing about this rogue coal plant when he announced the new federal coal regulations last month. But the recent signs of Kent’s willingness to address Maxim’s plans head-on have opened up a window of opportunity to stop this plant. Now the key is to keep the pressure on the minister to make the right decision.
It's clear that stopping this plant is going to take a coordinated effort. And that's why we're asking you to get involved. Have 10 minutes? Here are two simple things you can do, right now, to help stop this plant before it starts polluting:
(1) Write a letter to the editor (like this one) explaining why you don't support Maxim Power's plans to pollute. Email it to your local newspaper (most papers have contact info online), and copy these people:
- Maxim Power President and C.E.O. - John R. Bobenic: jbobenic@maximpowercorp.com
- Environment Minister Peter Kent: peter.kent@parl.gc.ca
- The Pembina Institute: news@pembina.org
(2) Email Minister Kent directly to ask him to use his authority to stop Maxim Power from sneaking in under the wire of the new federal regulations. The Minister's comments about Maxim Power show he's listening to Canadians and prepared to close the loopholes if there's enough public pressure. Let's ensure that we give him the political space to do the right thing.
We'll keep you posted over the next few weeks as this fight continues. And as always, if you have feedback, ideas or suggestions, we want to hear from you. Thank you for your support ....together we can win this one.
Cheers,
Dan Woynillowicz
Director of Strategy and Communications
The Pembina Institute
www.pembina.org
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The Pembina Institute is a non-partisan sustainable energy think tank.
Lafarge
Click on the Archives below on the background information for Years 2007, 2008 & 2009 about Lafarge's application for expansion and BVCAS' concerns about the expected increase in green house gas emissions in the atmosphere.
Note: Archives for previous years are "under construction"
Archives 2007 Archives 2008 Archives 2009
February 12, 2010 - Update on the expansion - the schedule is as it states in the Approval - start by May 31, 2011 or completed by May 31, 2014. Lafarge should have more clarity on the exact expansion timeliness by this summer.
September 15, 2010 - Update from Lafarge - The expansion is still planned as outlined in the approval although it has not been "officially" given the final go ahead internally from France.
As far as the Enegy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) Industrial Development Permit (IIDP) approval we are working on some Supplemental Information Requests (SIR's) from the ERCB and hopefully this will pave the way for us receiving the Industrial Development Permit. (IDP)
April, 2011 - Lafarge - is applying to amend their permit for an extension in the dates to complete their expansion by a year. The timeline for reducing emissions has not changed.
July 12, 2011 - Lafarge issued a public notice, advising they are reviewing another source for coal for their production process. The possible source is Highvale, AB. Lafarge has done an extensive safety audit of the Highvale coal which enables them to safely use this coal in a trial.
The trial duration will be 5 to 7 days to be conducted within the next 2 to 3 months. Once this fuel trial is completed and trial data compiled, the results of the trial will be made public to parties seeking this data.
Graymont
Note: Archives for previous years are "under construction"
Archives for Year 2009
May 11, 2010 - We met with Alberta Environment and Graymont to review the draft renewal Operating Permit that allows Graymont to operate for another 10 years. With this renewal, Graymont is making some improvements; however, it falls short in a number of areas - in particular, we voiced our concern that Graymont is proposing to install a baghouse to better control dust on only one of two kilns. We would have liked to see baghouses on both kilns. We also wanted to see more continuous improvement on control of fugitive dust.
Alberta Environment has required Graymont to put a dust mitigation plan in place. Unfortunately, the dust mitigation plan has no concrete requirements to reduce dust by any measurable amounts within a certain time frame. Alberta Environment will take our concerns under consideration.
May 31, 2010 - Alberta Environment approves Graymont's renewal application
- November 5, 2010 - The following is a progress update by Graymont for their Exshaw Plant:
- The construction for the baghouse to replace the wet scrubber for #2 kiln has begun. We anticipate the new baghouse to be online and operational by the end of the 1stquarter of 2011.
- At this time we do not anticipate conducting testing for the use of wood materials as a substitute fuel for coal in our kilns until 2012. However, in 2011 we are planning to continue testing wood materials at a number of our other lime manufacturing plants in Canada and in the US.
- The testing completed to date has produced very positive results the way of emission outputs and from an operational standpoint. Securing a sustainable wood supply will be our biggest challenges and we do not foresee constructing a wood handling system until we complete the fuel testing and we secure a supply of wood materials.
- We have implemented the dust mitigation plan for the plant, including the training our employees with regard to responsibility, accountability, preventative and corrective actions associated with fugitive dust
- We are currently in the process of updating the preventative maintenance program for our pollution abatement equipment. This will be completed by year-end
