Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media contact: Anne Perry Moore, 218-723-2356 EAW contact: William Lynott, 651-296-7794 Air permit contact: Jenny Reinertsen, 218-723-4760 Toll-free (all staff, voice, TTY): 1-800-657-3864 Duluth, Minn.-- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will hold two informational meetings on the Laurentian Energy Authority's (LEA) proposal to generate 35 megawatts of electricity at Hibbing and Virginia utility plants using renewable fuels. Utility and MPCA staff will be on hand to discuss the project and answer questions. The MPCA has prepared an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW, a brief and basic environmental review) and draft air permits for new wood-fired boilers at the Virginia Department of Public Utilities and Hibbing Public Utilities plants. Both utilities currently produce electricity and steam heat using coal for fuel. Agency staff will discuss the EAW and draft air permits on May 11 at the Virginia City Hall, 327 First Street South, 2nd Floor Council Chambers, and on May 12 at the Hibbing City Hall, 401 East 21st Street, 3rd Floor Council Chambers. Both meetings are scheduled from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The project is a joint venture of the two municipal utilities to produce electrical power production for Xcel Energy of Minneapolis by using renewable fuels. Plantation-grown hybrid poplar trees, tree and shrub waste, and other logging waste would ultimately make up approximately 75 percent of the proposed project's fuel source. Coal burned in existing boilers would provide the remainder. The wood ash would be beneficially reused according to a plan developed with the Minnesota Extension Service and approved by the MPCA. The proposed project incorporates modifications to existing plant infrastructure to accommodate the new boilers and related processes. Each utility's potential air emissions would increase due to the addition of the wood-fired boilers. LEA has proposed using "best available" pollution control technology for the nitrogen, particulate matter and carbon monoxide emissions. The EAW and copies of the draft permits are available for review at the:
· MPCA Duluth Office, 525 Lake Avenue South, Suite 400
· Virginia Public Library, 215 South 5th Avenue
· Hibbing Public Library, 202 East 5th Street
· MPCA Web site at hhref="/news/data/index.cfm?PN=1
Interested people may also request a copy of the EAW by contacting Nora Somers at 651-297-8510 or 1-800-657-3864. Written comments on the EAW should be mailed to William Lynott, Project Manager, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, MN, 55155. Written comments on the EAW must be received by 4:30 p.m. on May 25, 2005. To request copies of the draft air permits or submit written comments on them, contact Jenny Reinertsen, MPCA Permit Engineer, 525 Lake Avenue South, Suite 400, Duluth, MN, 55802. The draft air permits' written comment deadlines are 4:30 p.m. on May 27 for the Virginia utility, and May 31 for the Hibbing utility. Questions about the public meetings may be directed to Anne Perry Moore, MPCA Public Information Officer at 218-723-2356. Questions about the EAW should be directed to William Lynott, at 651-296-7794; questions about the proposed air permits should be directed to Jenny Reinertsen, at 218-723-4760. All MPCA staff may be reached at 1-800-657-3864 (voice and TTY).