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Feb 15 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Delaware State
News, Dover
The burning issue of escalating electric rates might fuel a debate on revisiting a 2000 state law that effectively bans waste incineration in Delaware. Earlier this month, electric provider Delmarva Power announced that it plans to increase its residential rates by 59 percent in May, a proposal that has sparked a maelstrom of activity among state officials. "I think everything would be on the table, particularly right now with rates and the landfill problems we have," said Rep. Joseph W. Booth, R-Georgetown, who chairs the House Natural Resources and Environmental Management Committee. "There might be a renewed interest to look at the technology today and how it's evolved since it was banned." With Delaware's Cherry Island landfill near Wilmington filling up fast, state officials say something must be done with the waste, and there is the possibility of killing two birds with one stone. "We've taken (waste incineration) off the board," said Sen. George H. Bunting Jr., D-Bethany Beach. "But we're willing to ship some of our trash out of state." Waste incinerators would decrease waste volume by 90 percent and produce energy comparable to other power plants, said Delaware Solid Waste Authority administrative services chief Thomas Houska. "This is a power plant that uses waste as a fuel instead of coal or gas," Mr. Houska said. "It is a viable option on the technical side." Mr. Houska noted that there are numerous waste incineration plants just outside Delaware's borders, in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chester, Pa., and Camden, N.J. Japan and countries in Europe, he said, use incineration as their primary method of waste disposal. Seaford-based chicken producer Allen Family Foods Inc. is considering building a poultry waste incinerator to help power its rendering plant in Linkwood, Md., said Mark Pilcher, company vice president of operations. The steam produced from the incinerator would generate about 12 percent of the energy needed to operate the plant, Mr. Pilcher said. But a coalition of good government groups, environmental activists and lawmakers pushed the 2000 legislation restricting where incinerators could operate. The supporters of that law are vowing to fight any attempt to allow incineration. "We will vigorously oppose any proposal to weaken the state law," said John D. Flaherty, a lobbyist for Common Cause Delaware. "A lot of people worked very hard to get that law passed. We do not want to see incinerators come to Delaware." Alan Muller, executive director of the environmental group Green Delaware, said waste incinerators would not help the energy situation. An incinerator would generate a small fraction of the state's electrical needs, he said, but add a substantial amount of air pollution. "It's not going to produce much electricity and it is going to be harmful to Delaware's environment," he said. "Garbage incineration is a very high-polluting way to deal with garbage because garbage is a mixture of different kinds of stuff. "When you have a random mixture of things going into an incinerator, it is hard to control what comes out of the smokestack. "It is a terrible idea." Gov. Ruth Ann Minner is awaiting a report from a panel she established to study potential solutions for disposing of waste before commenting on incineration or any other proposal, said her spokeswoman Kate Bailey. The Solid Waste Management Alternative working group is due to report its findings to the governor May 15. Secretary of Natural Resources and Environmental Control John A. Hughes said the working group would consider all alternatives, including waste incineration. "Are we looking at incineration as a specific answer? No," Mr. Hughes said. "I have serious reservations about (a waste incinerator) meeting environmental requirements." Mr. Hughes said there are other methods to use waste to produce energy that doesn't involve burning it, such as anaerobically digesting it in water. The process gives off methane gas that can be burned to produce energy, Mr. Hughes said. Delmarva Power spokesman Matt Likovich said the energy provider already utilizes power produced by waste incinerators, accounting for 0.6 percent of the company's fuel mix. Building a waste incinerator in Delaware would not be cheap, costing about $250-$300 million, Mr. Houska said. "We're certainly willing to look at it as an option," he said, adding that he is awaiting the working group's recommendations. "But our first hurdle is the (2000) law."
By Joe Rogalsky and Drew Volturo |