Why did Detroit incinerator deserve tax credits

[lukabottle]

This is ridiculous. Was anyone at the Council meeting? If so, did they give any rational for their decision?

http://blogs.metrotimes.com/index.ph...tax-credits-3/


$4.1 million question: Why did Detroit incinerator deserve tax credits
November 23, 2011
By Curt Guyette
What happened over the past half year that suddenly caused the owners of Detroit’s waste-to-energy incinerator to be worthy of $4.1 million in state brownfield tax credits?
Back in April, the Detroit City Council voted against allocating the tax credits to the incinerator’s new owner, Detroit Renewable Power, for new equipment and site improvements.
On Tuesday, Councilmembers Gary Brown and Andre Spivey reversed course and voted yes, allowing the measure to pass 5-4. Neither Brown nor Spivey gave a reason for changing their votes. Joining them in supporting the granting of tax credits were Council President Charles Pugh, and Councilmembers Saunteel Jenkins and James Tate. Councilmember Ken Cockrel Jr., Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and JoAnn Watson were opposed.
But, as far as we can tell, absolutely nothing has changed since April.
As in the past, workers at the plant turned out in force to urge the council to approve the tax credit, which is provided by the state.
A broad coalition of environmentalists and community activists were dismayed by the council’s turnaround. They see it as yet one more subsidy for a polluting facility — it has been tagged with three violations from the state within recent months, including two infractions for excessive odor — that wouldn’t be financially viable without a steady infusion of city money.
Detroit pays $25 a ton to have its municipal waste burned at the facility, and then pays again to buy the steam it produces.
Particularly grating for opponents is the fact that tax credits typically go to clean up polluted properties so that they can bet put back into use, increasing employment and tax revenues. In the case of the incinerator, however, the facility, at the intersection of Interstates 94 and 75 on the city’s east side, is not in danger of shutting down.
Instead of cleaning up blighted property, according to the owners, the tax credits to purchase new equipment and upgrade the facility will only create 10 permanent jobs at most.
As Irv Corley, the council’s fiscal analyst, point out during a hearing on the issue last week, that’s not a particularly good return on the public’s investment of $4.1 million.
Councilmember Ken Cockrel Jr., in arguing against approval, said the brownfield tax credits should be used for projects that “truly bring new jobs and truly renovate” polluted property.
Those arguments fell on five sets of deaf ears.

[animatedmartian]

Whose idea was it to build a trash incinerator in the middle of the city in the first place? They couldn't stick it by the Marathon refinery since that area was already as polluted to hell? Whatever, the tax credits doesn't make any sense either.

[Wesley Mouch]

Whose idea was it to build a trash incinerator in the middle of the city in the first place? They couldn't stick it by the Marathon refinery since that area was already as polluted to hell? Whatever, the tax credits doesn't make any sense either.

1) The trash comes from Detroit.

2) The steam is connected into an existing downtown network of steam pipes that heat much of downtown.

[Hamtragedy]

The trash comes from all over.

[Detroitnerd]

The trash came from all over, and Detroit would subsidize suburban trash with a generous "tipping fee."

[j to the jeremy]

The trash comes from the suburbs, and from Canada, as well as Detroit. The incinerator must be filled to capacity to burn anything and even at peak population, Detroit's trash alone could not fill it every time. I recall a controversy several years back where Toronto was sending us curbside "recycling" to burn. Mmmm, the taste of Canadian plastic on a Sunday morning!

After Bing was elected and renewed the contract/ negotiated a new operator for the place, it was re-branded as a "green" energy provider. Unfortunately, it is both the largest incinerator in the country AND the only one in a DOWNTOWN area. Let's be honest, this thing is practically at I-75 and Warren. Asthma rates of those who live on the near East Side are high because of the incinerator.

Wasting brownfield credits on an existing, polluting eyesore would be considered an incompetent decision in any city with real ambitions. Brownfield funds are one of the only ways to actually fund new development and historical renovations in a rust belt city, why would we waste $4 million on this?


Does anyone know of recent efforts to shut it down? The last time I went to a meeting about this was in 2008. I'd love to know if anyone is actively picketing or doing stuff behind the scenes to get some clean air...you'd think the city would want "Midtown" not to smell like rotting fish 4 days a week...

[Detroitnerd]

I think the vote breakdown serves as a good litmus test for who I'll be voting for in the future.

For the subsidy: Saunteel Jenkins, James Tate, Charles Pugh, and sneaky, last-minute reversals from Gary Brown and Andre Spivey.

Against the subsidy: Ken Cockrel Jr., JoAnn Watkins, Brenda Jones and Kwame Kenyatta.

[Dexlin]

So, you'd vote for all of the old timers [[Watson, BTW), and none of the newbies. lol

[Detroitnerd]

So, you'd vote for all of the old timers [[Watson, BTW), and none of the newbies. lol

Not one of them are really keystone kouncilpeople. Conyers and Reeves are gone. Watson, for her old-fashioned ethnic bloc politics, really led on the incinerator issue.

[townonenorth]

Not one of them are really keystone kouncilpeople. Conyers and Reeves are gone. Watson, for her old-fashioned ethnic bloc politics, really led on the incinerator issue.

Ethnic bloc politics? Sure, Watson plays that card all the time, but have you ever listened to Kenyatta's soapbox on the council channel? He makes Watson look like a conservative.

[Wesley Mouch]

<snip>
Unfortunately, it is both the largest incinerator in the country AND the only one in a DOWNTOWN area. Let's be honest, this thing is practically at I-75 and Warren. Asthma rates of those who live on the near East Side are high because of the incinerator.

Please provide citations for these 'facts'. I am a supporter of things green, and like seeing trash burned rather than buried -- with the energy used for heating.

But I'd like to know the truth.

btw, here's a photo of the downtown Toronto incinerator. Doesn't look to be as large as Detroit's, nor perhaps with the same fuel-stream. I guess this is out of the country. Couldn't find where Harrisburg's troubled incinerator is located, but it also is a steam generation station. Wow. Detroit runs a successful incinerator, and Harrisburg PA has a financial albatross. Nice to see Detroit doing something right.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wmarkdyer/60668983/

[j to the jeremy]

Please provide citations for these 'facts'. I am a supporter of things green, and like seeing trash burned rather than buried -- with the energy used for heating.

But I'd like to know the truth.

btw, here's a photo of the downtown Toronto incinerator. Doesn't look to be as large as Detroit's, nor perhaps with the same fuel-stream. I guess this is out of the country. Couldn't find where Harrisburg's troubled incinerator is located, but it also is a steam generation station. Wow. Detroit runs a successful incinerator, and Harrisburg PA has a financial albatross. Nice to see Detroit doing something right.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wmarkdyer/60668983/

From the US Government:
http://www.epa.gov/ncer/childrenscen..._eastside.html

"The Detroit Municipal Waste Incinerator has been operating at the intersection of Russell and Ferry Streets since 1986. It is the largest municipal incinerator in the United States and it currently burns approximately 2,000 tons of garbage every day. Many environmental groups, including the Michigan Environmental Justice Council, the Sierra Club, and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, are working to close the incinerator. They advocate a shift to recycling, composting, and limited landfilling. Over 100 community organizations, including twenty-six in the 48211 zip code that also includes the incinerator, support these efforts.

People in favor of the incinerator say that it is an efficient way to get rid of waste and produce electricity. Importing plastics from Ohio and Illinois and food waste from Windsor provides revenue for the city. Opposition organizations maintain that the incinerator is an expensive way to handle trash, and up to $25 million a year could be saved with the implementation of cleaner alternatives, such as a comprehensive recycling program. There is also disagreement about the environmental impact of incinerators. State and federal laws regulate the pollution released by the incinerator. Though the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality [[DEQ) reports that the facility complies with all standards, local groups are concerned that emissions are not regulated properly. The EPA Region 5 has received over 200 complaints about this incinerator in the last year. Brad Van Guilder of the Ecology Center reports that the incinerator is nearly out of compliance for NOX, a major contributor to ozone. Plus, the incinerator is located near several other large polluting enterprises and two major highways. The combination of all of these enterprises really impacts the community."


The EPA also warns about asthma in the area on that page- I'd think that if our federal government is warning east siders about asthma, there is actually a big problem there.