"Before determining whether to support the construction of a new coal-fired power plant that would cost Michigan ratepayers billions of dollars and affect Michigan's environment and natural resources, the governor believes it's important to first understand whether the energy from the plant is needed and whether the plant is the best way to meet our energy needs," Granholm's Press Secretary Meghan Brown said.

First of all, the Governor needs to drop the, "I'm only looking out for the ratepayers," bullcrap.  She is not concerned with the people of the north who belong to Co-ops.  She made that clear when she fast-tracked a 930 MW power plant downstate.

She can stop patronizing us with the idea that she is concerned this plant will hurt the environment.  Her own DEQ affirmed that Wolverine has done everything possible to protect the environment.

Since the beginning of this project, Wolverine has spent over 700 million dollars buying power from downstate utilities as well as Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin.  So yes,  it is needed.

Most people think that if a person makes it to the Governorship, she must be intelligent.  So I have no idea why Granholm seems so thick about what is the best way to create power.  The better way to create electric power is to burn something, not wait for the wind to blow.

The decision of whether or not to issue the air permit to Wolverine is not being driven by politics - this is all about whether issuing the permit is the right policy for Michigan under the laws that govern air quality,"

Au contraire, this whole issue is politics.  The idea that we need an energy plant is political, the fact that Wolverine wishes to build it in the middle of a limestone quarry is political, the idea that the company has to hold public hearings is political, the environmental concerns are political.  And don't think it has escaped many people's notice that most of the people against this plant are Democrats, and most for the plant are Republicans.

The only part about this whole saga that is not political is the support from the local townspeople.  They are the ones who finally have hope that the schools won't lose more funding, that the taxes collected from an operation like this along with the added tax base from an increase in population can mean the city can make improvements, the roads can be fixed, and all the other things this plant means.  The fact that there will be jobs!  Jobs.

What the Governor means by "under the laws that govern air quality," is that she is waiting for the EPA to create some laws to govern carbon dioxide emissions.  At a time when the hoax of global warming is unraveling, and the news that a major scientist admitted he fudged numbers to make the case more compelling, and that there has been no warming since 1995, Granholm is sticking to her plan.

"Processing an air permit of this magnitude is enormously complex. The DNRE staff have received 6,500 individual comments on the proposed air permit, which must be reviewed, considered, and responded to before taking action on the permit. Permits like these take time to process - both in Michigan and around the country - because they have such important stakes," Brown said.

THE ONLY consideration given to the permit is what the law allows, (DNRE) representative Bob McCann asserted, regardless of political pressures from outside organizations, both for and opposed to the power plant, or even from the governor's office. "There is obviously a great deal of outside interest from a number of parties, however, decisions by our permitting staff are made solely on scientific and legal purposes. Quite simply, the law doesn't allow for anything else," McCann said. The wait continues.