Posted:
May 29, 2012
Lake Michigan Carferry, owner of the S/S Badger, has applied for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permit to allow continued operation of the historic ferry on Lake Michigan.
The Badger is the last coal-fired vessel operating in regular service in the U.S., Lake Michigan Carferry (LMC) said in its announcement. The vessel - a passenger and vehicle ferry that operates between Ludington, Mich. and Manitowoc, Wis. five months each year - is a major tourist attraction in both states and supports hundreds of jobs.
The Badger is currently operating in strict accordance with requirements and standards in its current EPA permit, which will expire in December, the company reported. In 2008, the EPA said the vessel's discharges were appropriate under the Clean Water Act given the lack of harm and the lack of feasible or affordable alternatives. At that time, the EPA told the company to apply for an individual permit if no feasible alternative was found by 2012.
LMC has filed the 1,000-page permit application - which cites data demonstrating the Badger's discharges are well within the allowable limits set by the states and the EPA - more than a month before the EPA's deadline and seven months before the current permit expires, the company noted.
"Multiple tests by EPA-approved laboratories show that the Badger's discharges are a small fraction of the amount that has been routinely approved for similar permits on the Great Lakes," said LMC President and CEO Bob Manglitz. "The materials discharged by the Badger that are tracked by the EPA are literally hundreds of times less than what others are permitted to discharge into Lake Michigan.
"Many solutions have been thoroughly studied, but none of them are both technologically and economically feasible at this time," Manglitz said. "The permit application includes our continuing commitment to vessel discharge improvements, ongoing testing and a promise to pursue other cleaner fuels."
In particular, he said, LMC officials are aggressively pursuing a conversion to liquefied natural gas.
"This permit is a necessary part of our plan to make the Badger the 'greenest' ship on the Great Lakes," Manglitz said. "The infrastructure to supply natural gas and the technology to use the fuel on the Badger will take some time to develop but we are committed to it." The Badger is currently the model vessel for a federal study sponsored by the Maritime Administration exploring the conversion of Great Lakes steamships to LNG as a fuel.
The Badger is operated under contract with American Maritime Officers. The ferry's role in supporting hundreds of jobs and its local economies has been the focus of recent news coverage.
"The Badger has a huge impact on this community," Tom Hawley, who owns a microbrewery in Ludington, told The Muskegon Chronicle. "It's a symbol of our community. It's our tradition and it employs our people."
Ludington Mayor John Henderson spoke along the same line. "Our local merchants every day look for the ferry to run," Henderson told the newspaper. "We are very proud to be the Badger's home port."
S/S Badger owner applies for individual permit to allow continued operation of historic ferry
Lake Michigan Carferry, owner of the S/S Badger, has applied for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permit to allow continued operation of the historic ferry on Lake Michigan.
The Badger is the last coal-fired vessel operating in regular service in the U.S., Lake Michigan Carferry (LMC) said in its announcement. The vessel - a passenger and vehicle ferry that operates between Ludington, Mich. and Manitowoc, Wis. five months each year - is a major tourist attraction in both states and supports hundreds of jobs.
The Badger is currently operating in strict accordance with requirements and standards in its current EPA permit, which will expire in December, the company reported. In 2008, the EPA said the vessel's discharges were appropriate under the Clean Water Act given the lack of harm and the lack of feasible or affordable alternatives. At that time, the EPA told the company to apply for an individual permit if no feasible alternative was found by 2012.
LMC has filed the 1,000-page permit application - which cites data demonstrating the Badger's discharges are well within the allowable limits set by the states and the EPA - more than a month before the EPA's deadline and seven months before the current permit expires, the company noted.
"Multiple tests by EPA-approved laboratories show that the Badger's discharges are a small fraction of the amount that has been routinely approved for similar permits on the Great Lakes," said LMC President and CEO Bob Manglitz. "The materials discharged by the Badger that are tracked by the EPA are literally hundreds of times less than what others are permitted to discharge into Lake Michigan.
"Many solutions have been thoroughly studied, but none of them are both technologically and economically feasible at this time," Manglitz said. "The permit application includes our continuing commitment to vessel discharge improvements, ongoing testing and a promise to pursue other cleaner fuels."
In particular, he said, LMC officials are aggressively pursuing a conversion to liquefied natural gas.
"This permit is a necessary part of our plan to make the Badger the 'greenest' ship on the Great Lakes," Manglitz said. "The infrastructure to supply natural gas and the technology to use the fuel on the Badger will take some time to develop but we are committed to it." The Badger is currently the model vessel for a federal study sponsored by the Maritime Administration exploring the conversion of Great Lakes steamships to LNG as a fuel.
The Badger is operated under contract with American Maritime Officers. The ferry's role in supporting hundreds of jobs and its local economies has been the focus of recent news coverage.
"The Badger has a huge impact on this community," Tom Hawley, who owns a microbrewery in Ludington, told The Muskegon Chronicle. "It's a symbol of our community. It's our tradition and it employs our people."
Ludington Mayor John Henderson spoke along the same line. "Our local merchants every day look for the ferry to run," Henderson told the newspaper. "We are very proud to be the Badger's home port."