Dear Editor:

In his letter to the editor Aug. 15-16, Mike Moses criticized the Sierra Club and our members who speak out at biomass meetings. Our source includes the American Lung Association 2008 State of the Air Report on the Health Effects of Ozone and Particle Pollution.

Other sources include Margaret Sheehan, attorney for Ecolaw, who testified before Congress on carbon dioxide emissions from biomass plants, and Dr. Ron Saff, who organizred the physicians in Tallahassee Florida, where biomass plants were stopped because of the projected health effects on the population there.

Today, I found a new source, a letter from Ellen Moyer, PHD, that adds valuable information about all biomass plants.

“The efficiency of biomass incinerators is 15 to 25 percent, meaning 15 to 25 percent of the energy in wood is captured and converted to

electricity. Efficiency of electricity from coal is 45 percent and from natural gas, 60 percent.

“Inefficiency translates to more emissions of carbon dioxide per unit of energy generated than any other technology, 1.5 to 3.5 times

that of coal, 2.5 times that of natural gas, and 2.5 times the national average. That does not count the impact of destroying

trees that take up carbon dioxide.”

The irony of this is that CO2 is not even calculated in the air permit application the company submitted for the LaGrange Biomass Plant.

The Supreme Court, Mass. vs. EPA, rulled that CO2 must be considered a pollutant.

It’s not only carbon dioxide that is emited in huge quantities. Every hour, according to the Air Permit Application submitted by the company to Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD, this plant will emit more than 150 pounds of air pollutants, including mercury, arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, hydrogen chloride, sulfer dioxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds,

carbon monoxide, ammonia, benzene, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, , manganese, nickel, selenium, methanol, styrene, phosphorus, acetaldehyde and particulate matter.

Sulfer dioxide and nitrogen oxide form acid rain, but this plant is exempt from the acid rain reduction regulations because it does not burn fossil fuel.

Nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds combine in the presence os heat and sunlight to form ground level ozone, which the American Lung Association warns, along particulate matter, are the most dangerous air pollutants. Its report states:

“Recent research has reveled new insights into how they can harm the body, including taking the lives of infants and altering the lungs of children. “

Also at risk, according to the ALA study, are children and teens, anyone 65 and older, people who work or exercise outdoors, people with existing lung diseases, such as asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (also known as COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis), and “responders” who are otherwise healthy but for some reason react more strongly to ozone.

The problem with a cost benefit analysis is that the people who reap the profits, the 22 people who will get jobs at this plant, and wood plantation owners who sell the wood, are not the people who will pay the cost with their health and their dollars.

Just where is the $170 million coming from that is mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Mayor Jeff Lukken and the president of Rollcast, now called Greenway Renewable Power, LLC. Section 10 of that document states:

“Should Developer so elect, the Development Authority of the City of LaGrange, (“DAL”) will issue Industrial Revenue Bonds sufficient to finance the Project. Under this financing, DAL would own the land, buildings, machinery, equipment and other property purchased or constructed with the pond proceeds and would lease the property to Developer under a 15-year lease with an option to purchase the

property at any time for a nominal fee, all subject to approval by DAL. No property tax abatement is available due to the number of jobs associated with the Project.”

Also section 11, of the MOU, “Grants and Loans - The City shall use best efforts to identify available federal and state grants and loans for the Project and infrastructure ancillary to the Project, (such as roads, bridges, water and service lines, parking lots, etc), scope out target projects, and apply for, or assist Developer in applying for, grants and loans deemed desirable by Developer in a timely manner.”

It seems to me, Mr. Moses, that persons who cast aspersions without citing facts are the truly paranoid ones. But thank you for crediting the Sierra Club with the good turnout at the EPD hearing . We invite you to join us at the City Council meeting

at 5:30, Aug. 25, we’re on the agenda to ask questions related to other issues, such as the financing.

How is this going to affect our pocket books? Who is responsible for the Industrial Bonds? How much is the elctricity produced at this plant going to cost? Who are the expected customers. LaGrange has more electricity than it needs and is currently selling its excess. With so many biomass plants going up in the state, how will this affect LaGrange’s ability to compete for customers?

Jeannine Honicker

LaGrange, Ga.

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