Stop Dumping Coal! S.S. Badger dumping 4 tons of coal ash into Lake Michigan. The EPA gave the company 5 years to stop - now they want ANOTHER five years.
Badger Dumping Sludge S.S. Badger could landfill this waste today but it's cheaper for them to dump it into the Great Lakes. Tell EPA to stop this now!

S.S. Badger dumping toxic ash

Polluting Lake michigan

The S.S. Badger dumps nearly four tons of toxic coal ash into Lake Michigan every time it sails. The EPA in 2008 gave the owners until 2012 to stop dirtying the lake. Despite assurances, the Badger wouldn't stop. The buiness continues to profit from the dumping and now wants permisson to continue polluting our Great Lakes until 2017 or beyond.

46 years of broken promises

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Badger dumps tons of toxic waste into Lake Michigan

LUDINGTON, Mich. -- The S.S. Badger is dumping four tons per day of toxic ash - including coal, arsenic and mercury - into Lake Michigan, more pollutants than all other Great Lakes ships combined.

An investigative review of news and public records reveals the ship's owners have been promising to stop dumping since at least 1966, nearly half a century. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in a February 24, 2012 letter to Badger owners Lake Michigan Carferry, noted recently the Badger could stop the dumping immediately, as it diid during a 2008 test, simply by landfilling the ash rather than continuting to dump it into Lake Michigan. Yet the owners claim they'll be shut down if they can't continue dumping intio Lake Michigan.

"They're putting almost 8,000 pounds of ash a day into Lake Michigan.'' Muskegon Mayor Steve Warmington told the Associated Press. "There's no way in the world you can convince me that's good for the lake.''

Four tons per day since 1953. All sides agree the answer to obeying the law, particularly the Clean Water Act is simple: Stop dumping coal into Lake Michigan as all other Great Lakes ships did years ago. The Badger owners have, in fact, been promising fpr decades to change - though always adding a request for more time. In 2008, they were given five years to change. Now tney are seeking another five years.

From promises to stop dumping to promises to shift the coal burning ship to diesel power or natural gas power, the pattern remains: the public calls for changes, ship owners say they will change and the daily dumping continues:

- Promises in 1960s. In 1966, responding to calls for tougher anti-pollution controls, the ship’s owners told U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson they would stop dumping trash and black liquid from the side of the boat, according to the Dec. 5, 1996 edition of the Sheboygan Press. A complaint filed at the time said “Twice we noticed a pump spewing a black, viscous liquid for miles… The dumping of trash went on continuously for miles.’’

- Promised to convert 11 years ago. In 2001, Lake Michigan Carferry President Robert Manglitz said they didn’t require a state appropriation to help their plans to convert from coal fire to diesel power. Perhaps the Badger doesn’t care? No conversion occurred.

- Stalling Clean Water Act. In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency barred the practice of dumping coal ash into the Great Lakes and gave the Badger five years to comply with the law. The Badger owners told WLUK-TV in Wisconsin they would address the concerns. Now as the December 2012 deadline approaches, the ship owners continue to seek delays saying they hope to find a conversion solution, such as converting the ship to natural gas power.

- Seeking further delays until 2017 or beyond. The ship owners are seeking further delays that could stretch to 2017 and beyond for dumping that has been going on for nearly 60 years.

- Dumping illegal. With more than 500 tons being dumped annually since 1952, citizens are concerned. Dumping in the Great Lakes violates state law as would dumping the material on land.

"It is the height of irony that your carferry operation is threatening the future of the very lake you depend on for your livelihood,'' U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin wrote in a March 22 letter to Robert Manglitz, president of Lake Michigan Carferry Service. "The four years since receiving your current EPA permit have been more than enough time for you to develop a credible plan for eliminating coal ash discharge. All you could produce for me was far-fetched LNG theory which has no chance to actually become a reality. Because of your continued, long-term refusal to clean up your dangerous operations, I will actively oppose your new permit application.''

Coal ash pollution drew national attention four years ago when a Kingston, Tenn. Power plant’s holding pond ruptured, polluting a tributary of the Ohio River. The EPA has discussed tougher rules related to the disposal of such waste while the Badger dumps the matter into pristine Lake Michigan every time it makes a trip.

The Chicago Tribune recently reported, "The Badger dumps nearly four tons of coal ash into Lake Michigan -- waste concentrated with arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxic metals. During its spring-to-fall season, federal records show, the amount far exceeds the coal, iron and limestone jettisoned by all 125 big ships on the Great Lakes combined...

"Two things stand out when riding on the Badger: It is considerably larger than other passenger ships on Lake Michigan - on a recent afternoon one vehicle on board was a wide-load tractor-trailer carrying silo-sized tanks... and its thick, black smoke is full of ash flakes that settle on the deck."

Pounds of toxic waste dumped since 1953

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