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The action by the Department of Natural Resources allows We Energies to operate an offshore cooling water intake built to accommodate the additional two generators being constructed at its Oak Creek plant.
As planned, the plant would draw 2.2 billion gallons of water a day from Lake Michigan to cool its coal-fired boilers. The water returned to the lake would be 10 to 15 degrees warmer.
Clean Wisconsin, one of the groups fighting the plan, argues it would be too destructive of fish and other aquatic life. Instead, opponents have called for the utility to build cooling towers, which could increase the $2.2 billion cost of the project by millions of dollars.
We Energies contends cooling towers would actually mean a loss of up to 15 million gallons of water a day to evaporation, while requiring the use of more fuel and creating more air emissions.
The DNR agreed with the utility’s assessment in deciding to reissue the permit.
We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey noted when contacted Thursday night that the water intake for the new units has been placed a mile and a half or more from shore, 43 feet below the surface where there is less aquatic life to be affected.
Also, “with cooling towers, it costs energy to run the towers, which takes away from energy” produced by the plant, he said.
“From our standpoint we’ve said that this is the best environmental approach to take, and it continues to be borne out that this is the case,” he said.
A state administrative law judge ordered the DNR last November to review the environmental permit for the plant, finding that it must comply with tougher environmental standards as a new facility, not an expansion of the existing power plant. A federal appeals court in another case had overturned rules that were used by the DNR in approving the plant.
Katie Nekola, attorney for Clean Wisconsin, said her group would continue to challenge the permit.
“You’d expect DNR to exercise the highest level of care and scrutiny for a project with this much potential for environmental damage,” she said. “Instead, they’re willing to help We Energies avoid federal rules that would protect our natural resources.”
The DNR scheduled a meeting for public comment on its decision June 9 at Oak Creek Community Center.
Manthey said the first new unit remains on schedule for completion about the middle of next year, with the second unit due to be done in 2010.
