UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Superior are among eight state institutions that violated the Clean Air Act according to an Associated Press story.
The revelation came out of a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources study released Friday, Feb. 19 after a lawsuit brought to the state by the Sierra Club claimed coal-fired power plants weren’t complying with the law.
According to a Department of Administration document, the coal-fired power plants at La Crosse, Eau Claire, Oshkosh and Superior need a Prevention of Significant Deterioration Air Quality permit.
According to Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Tom Sonnleitner, there are two schools of thought in this issue.
“The state agreed to evaluate state heating plants, and consultants reported that there were no concerns about heating plants on UW campuses,” Sonnleitner said. “Department of Natural Resources reviewed the reports and disagreed with the conclusion.”
“What we at UW-Oshkosh and the other campuses pledge to do are review those plans and come up with a solution to reduce coal emissions,” Sonnleitner said.
“UW-Oshkosh is really trying to serve as a leadership role in terms of sustainability and alternative energy sources,” said Jim Feldman, co-chair of the Campus Sustainability Council and director of environmental studies. “To that end, they have done some things that have made for cleaner emissions.”
Last year UW-Oshkosh burned mostly natural gas instead of coal, which limited the greenhouse gas emissions and other gas emissions from coal according to Feldman.
Sonnleitner said another effort to reduce coal use is by using dry fermentation anaerobic biodigesters to use yard waste and food waste to create electricity and heat, which will reduce the need to burn coal by five percent.
“We are going to work closely with administration and Department of Natural Resources on plans to reduce emissions on campus,” Sonnleitner said. “Ninety-nine percent of the coal in Wisconsin is being burned in other major plants in the state of Wisconsin.”
Be the first to comment on this article!