U.S. EPA forces Jackson to scale back trash-to-gas plant

The dueling press releases started flying yesterday afternoon. By evening, the news about Cleveland's proposed trash-to-gas plant became clear:

The U.S. EPA, tipped off by Dennis Kucinich, says Mayor Frank Jackson has to scale back his proposed gasification plant. It has about 20 more questions for the city and state to answer before the plant can get a federal permit.

The Jackson Administration knew the EPA's rejection was coming, and they already have a scaled-back plan. But the plant's critics, including Kucinich and city councilman Brian Cummins, still want to kill it.

That's my four-sentence summary of yesterday's events. If you, brave reader, want to dig deeper, here's Kucinich's press release with his interpretation of the letter, Jackson's press release about making the plant smaller so it'll pollute less, and Cummins' long list of problems the opponents still have with the plant.

Most important, here's the U.S. EPA letter (pdf) that laid down the law. Basically, it says the plant was going to be too big and could generate too many nitrogen oxides. Also, the feds are listening to the critics' environmental justice concerns, and they have a 3-page list of questions about the project.

Meanwhile, the Plain Dealer reports that the city's trying to cut loose Peter Tien, the controversial consultant who got the city interested in Japanese gasification plants and whom Scene made to look really bad in December.

Is this thing ever going to get built? Or will Jackson suffer a major setback in his efforts to reduce the city's reliance on coal plants and landfills, because too many Clevelanders think the trash-to-gas plant isn't environmentally friendly at all? Stay tuned.

Opposition to city trash-to-energy plant grows

Frank Jackson calls it part of his sustainability efforts. Opponents call it a polluter. They'll have it out over the new few months.

Cleveland's plan to build a waste-to-energy facility on the West Side looks like it'll lead to a serious battle, with both sides claiming they're defending the environment.

Protesters hit City Hall last night, trying to stop the plant. (See NewsChannel 5's coverage here.) Councilman Brian Cummins predicted it'll never be built.

The Jackson Administration wants to heat trash and turn it into energy using a technology popular in Japan called gasification. The mayor traveled to Japan last year to look into it. He touts it as part of the city's plan to reach a goal of "zero waste" by 2019. He argues it'd be better for the environment and the city's budget than the current practice of dumping trash in a landfill near Canton.

"If I don’t have to pay a $7 million dumping fee and all the fuel it costs to get a garbage truck to the dump and back, not only have I dealt with being environmentally friendly, because I’m not putting something in the environment, then I’m also saving millions of dollars," he told me last month.

Opponents refer to the plant as an incinerator. They think the new technology will pollute the air as conventional trash-burning incinerators do.

Dennis Kucinich came out against the plant this month (and three days later, claimed he was leading the opposition to it). Jonathon Sawyer of Greenhouse Tavern, touting his sustainable-restaurant credentials, just wrote a letter to Jackson opposing the plant. It's an interesting moment -- a Cleveland chef trying to leverage his growing celebrity into influence.

"The process will greatly increase the amount of soot, carbon monoxide, and mercury that our community ingests daily," Sawyer argues.

Jackson still has to convince a skeptical city council. I wouldn't be surprised if opposition lines up much as it did against Jackson's failed LED lighting plan.

Both ideas were originally promoted by businessman Peter Tien. Scene ran a good story last month that poked holes in Tien's plans and credentials. Now, after giving him a $1.5 million contract to design a gasification plant, the city is seeking informational bids from other plant designers instead.