Mercury Removal in Coal-Fired Power Plants

Activated carbon injection is currently recognized as the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) by the EPA for mercury removal from flue gas in coal-fired power plants. While the capital costs of carbon injection are relatively low, the operating costs associated with activated carbon remain relatively high.

One recent discovery was that halogenated sorbents can significantly reduce the cost of carbon treatment in flue gas streams. Elemental mercury is more difficult to capture on activated carbon than oxidized forms of mercury.

While the use of halogenated sorbents has been a significant breakthrough, there are still significant opportunities ahead to reduce the cost of carbon treatment in this application. These opportunities include technologies to recycle the carbon and further reduce the amount of carbon used, improving sorbent performance in high sulfur dioxide (SO2) applications and developing cement-friendly sorbents that minimize the effect of the carbon being present in the fly ash. (More)

(Pollution Engineering, January 2007, Calgon Carbon Corporation)

South Africa Elects New President

Jacob Zuma, 67, was elected President of South Africa on April 22 and will be sworn in on April 10. He is South Africa's fourth democratic president. He will be accompanied by his three wives and will take the oath of office at the seat of government, the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Zuma was elected president by parliament, after his African National Congress (ANC) swept general elections two weeks ago. A polygamist with 19 children, Zuma embraces his Zulu tradition.

(IC Publications-African Business 5/9/09, )

Nothing Better To Do Than Pick On Juanita D. Miller?

The Washington Post, in an article entitled, "WSSC Board Member Exceeds Colleagues in Spending by Far," displays a classic example of the fourth estate abusing its power. With trillions going out to salvage the consequences of real greed, the Post decides to rag a utility board member over a few thousand dollars, which all seemed to be justified expenses (well the Harvard conference was a bit high). But the point is that clearly this paper does not have enough for its reporters to do if they spent time on this story. It is a 'hit piece' plain and simple with absolutely no redeeming value to public discourse. We have real questions about such 4th estate behavior when they use their vast power to bludgeon public servants over the equivalent of nothing.

Juanita D. Miller, left, is a longstanding public servant. To drag her name through the mud over 'Bernie Madoff' tips' is beyond the pale. And frankly we cannot help but point out that these little jewels over pennies are oftentimes aimed at black people. Okay go ahead and scream if you like, but we can think of many such examples. The new EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson does not get this kind of ink and she is responsible for the distribution of a $10 billion budget - - something around $6 billion going to water infrastructure improvements. The WSSC budget is one billion dollars and The Washington Post is comparing who spent more lunch money among the commission board. No wonder newspapers are having trouble staying in business.

Nuclear Power Industry Disappoints Just Like the Environmental Movement

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

The nuclear energy industry has taken the same trajectory as the environmental movement in terms of post-1970s effectiveness. The environmental movement peaked in 1985 in the middle of President Ronald Reagan's two terms. They went from rabbit hole paper filled offices around Capitol Hill to K Street offices that looked just like the corporations they accused of polluting the environment. Today you can't tell the difference between The Nature Conservancy offices and those of ExxonMobile. Now there is not anything necessarily wrong with going upscale. In fact, we just located on K Street ourselves. But the environmental groups lost their way after about 1989 and the 1990 Earth Day revival did not rejuvenate the movement. In fact, two newbie enviros declared the movement dead after the 1990s. I would say that it was arrogance that led to the demise of the environmental movement. Their elitist operations and policy positions ran out of steam after the major environmental laws were passed. They were left to count their money and be salvaged by the global warming issue.

The commercial nuclear energy industry was at their height in 2005 two decades after the height of the environmental movement. The nuclear power industry had almost everything it wanted in terms of streamlined regulations and government subsidies. It has even more now but the great renaissance that was being proclaimed is now in great doubt, even with every possible constraint to new building being removed. But Wall Street went south and the price tag for a new nuclear plant has the industry scratching its head about who will get a license and announce a new build first. It is ironic that the same global warming issue that salvaged the environmental movement is the same issue that 'keeps hope alive' for the nuclear power industry. Yet arrogance seeped into the nuclear power industry over the past four years or so, just as it did in the environmental movement in the mid 1980s. Our personal gripe is, just as it was and is with the elitist environmental movement, how they treat 'the least of these.' It is an indicator of how they will be treated by society at large.

President Obama Offering Settlement To Black Farmers

Today President Obama announced his plans to include settlement funds for black farmers in the FY 2010 budget to bring closure to their long-standing lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The president said:

"This is an issue I worked on in the Senate, and I'm pleased that we are now able to close this chapter in the agency's history and move on. My hope is that the farmers and their families who were denied access to USDA loans and programs will be made whole and will have the chance to
rebuild their lives and their businesses."

President Obama with Black Farmers Assoc Pres John Boyd

In 1999, the USDA entered into a consent agreement with black farmers in which the agency agreed to pay farmers for past discrimination in lending and other USDA programs. Thousands of claims have been adjudicated, but thousands of other claims were not considered on their merits because problems with the notification and claims process hindered some farmers' ability to participate. To deal with the remaining claims, Congress provided these farmers another avenue for restitution in the 2008 Farm Bill. For those who have claims that were not considered on the merits because the claim was found not to be timely, the 2008 Farm Bill provided the right to file a new claim in federal court. The total amount offered by the federal government, $1.25 billion, includes $100 million that served as a "place holder" in Section 14012 of the Farm Bill.

This announcement comes on the heels of a memorandum released two weeks ago by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack detailing an aggressive plan to promote civil rights and equal access at USDA. The memo announced the following:

The temporary suspension of all foreclosures within the Farm Service Agency's farm loan program, which will not only aid farmers facing economic hardship but will also provide the opportunity to review the loan granting process for possible discriminatory conduct; the creation of a Task force to conduct a review of a sample of program civil rights complaints that have been processed or that are currently being processed - the complaints and inquiries total over 14,000, including over 3,000 that have not been processed; and Granting greater authority to USDA's Office of Civil Rights.

The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights will collaborate with the other agencies to develop and implement a proposal for data collection across USDA, make sure all complaints are incorporated as part of one data system; and develop USDA policy and training to ensure that all complaints are received and dealt with in a consistent manner within a specific timeframe. The full text of the memo.

National Harbor Gas Station Proposal

National Harbor developer Milt Peterson wants to build a gas station at the top of the hill on the front side of National Harbor just off of Indian Head Highway. Locals are dug in and will oppose it with every bone in their bodies. They see it as an insult to the original vision of that locale, which was originally supposed to house office buildings that would support upscale restaurant lunch business. Most restaurants need a strong lunch business, in addition to dinner crowds, to make a profit and to stay in business. The only other gasoline service station is just below Rivertowne, which Peterson also owns, but it is out of the way and in a, how shall we put it, less than upscale area in Oxon Hill.

Peterson spokesperson/attorney Andre Gingles recently faced the pubic and was given an earful. Our guess is that this will be an uphill battle. There isn't a gasoline island anywhere near this location and some fear it could become an East Coast stop for trucks and cars from major Interstate Highway 95. Something like two percent of America's commerce passes across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which is near National Harbor. The proposal to put something like 18 gasoline pumps and a convenience store at the site is controversial. We have no idea where the local government officials will come down on this issue. But although National Harbor is Prince George's County's Times Square and Hollywood Walk of Fame combined, we sense deep seated opposition to the gasoline station proposal.

AES Sparrows Point LNG Water Permit Denied By State

Maryland has denied the water permit for a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Sparrows Point in Baltimore County. The denial is due to insufficient information about the project’s affect on wetlands, waterways and water quality. The Maryland Department of the Environment denied the project its water quality certification, a necessary component for construction to begin on Virginia-based AES Corporation’s LNG terminal. AES has the right to seek review of the state’s decision through civil action filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

AAEA does not have a position on the terminal, but is working with Turner Station to mitigate negative environmental consequences on this local minority community. However, we have been extremely disappointed in how AES has treated this community.

MDE will reconsider its decision if AES provides all of the necessary information and completes the consultation requirements. State and local officials have opposed the project since AES announced its plans in 2006. The state has made several unsuccessful attempts to derail it with legislation that would either ban the project from environmentally sensitive areas or from within five miles of residences, but only federal regulators have the authority to site LNG terminals.

MDE’s concerns include the company’s plans to dredge 3.7 million cubic yards of contaminated sediments material from the Baltimore harbor to be processed and sold. MDE said the company has not signed a contract with any firm to purchase the material, and there is no certainty that the material will be sold. The possibility remains that the processed dredged material will be stockpiled at the terminal, which does not have adequate space or pollution control measures for the large volume of material that would be stockpiled. Dredging a 118-acre area about 45 feet deep would allow the company’s tankers to turn around in the basin next to the terminal.

MDE believes dredging deeper than 30 feet in the harbor would create the potential for 33 percent of the total water volume to be depleted of oxygen, eliminating a habitat for aquatic life. AES has proposed building the facility on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard, where ships would unload the super-chilled liquefied natural gas. Several rare, threatened and endangered species, including sea turtles, sea whales and the Maryland darter, could be affected by the dredging and stream crossings that AES has proposed, according to MDE.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted preliminary approval to the project in January, but development will not begin until AES meets the 169 requirements laid out by the agency. (Maryland Daily Record, 4/4/09)