UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Administration hosted a town hall meeting Thursday evening at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' office to address future upgrades to four of Madison's power plants.
We are looking forward to making a significant investment, not only at Charter Street plant, but a thoughtful investment in our heating plant system for the university and for the state,"" said Alan Fish, UW-Madison's associate vice chancellor for facility planning and management.
In November, a federal judge ruled the Charter Street power plant violated the Clean Air Act. The meeting was part of post-lawsuit negotiations between the state and the Sierra Club, who brought the suit.
Form topics included changing fuel types for the plants, heat transportation methods and minimizing pollution in future upgrades.
""The coal plants we have now are killing and maiming people every minute,"" Rev. Dave Steffenson said at the meeting.
""Legal is not synonymous with what is moral or wise or even prudent.""
Former Dane County Executive Jonathan Barry advocated biomass facilities that would be powered in part by local grasses, turning them into cash crops. ""We have an opportunity here to help create a market that will revive rural economies in Dane County,"" he said.
Jennifer Feyenherm from Madison's Sierra Club said coal burning has contaminated Dane County's water supplies with unhealthy amounts of mercury. ""Dane County is in violation of national ambient air quality standards of fine particulate matter,"" she said.
A study due in July will determine the nature of renovation contracts to be issued in November.
A similar public forum could be held as early as May to finalize the report's decisions regarding the Charter Street plant and Madison's three other power plants.
