A new $50 million heating plant could be built on Ball State's campus to help reduce the amount of emissions that enter the air.
President Blaine Brownell said he has had discussions about a new heating plant, and it has been considered for the university's state budget request. The Board of Trustees has not yet talked about the new plant, but it is on the agenda, he said.
Muncie environmentalist Carol Blakney has tried to get a new plant for years, she said. Two years ago she sent a detailed letter to the Board of Trustees about the plant's dangers to the environment but never received a reply.
Brownell said he was aware the plant does not meet the Clean Air Act standards, but it isn't in violation of it either.
"As a public entity, we don't fall under the act," Brownell said.
When the Clean Air Act was put into place, coal plants were exempt because they would have to be replaced in 50 years due to wear, Blakney said.
In 1999 Ball State ranked No. 1 in the county for releasing 1,389 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, according to the Web site scorecard.org. Ranked No. 2 was Borg Warner Automotive with four tons.
In that same year Ball State produced the most carbon monoxide omissions with 79 tons, according to scorecard.org.
Ball State, however, has the "only power plant to speak of in Delaware County that burns fossil fuels," Jim Lowe, director of facilities assessment/engineering, said. "This makes it a natural point of concern."
Blakney doesn't understand why Ball State hasn't made the heating plant a concern before now.
"The amount of air pollution [caused by the plant] is pretty shocking," Blakney said. "We need to hold Ball State responsible for this."
The heating plant houses seven boilers. Four are coal-fired and three are natural gas-fired.
Ball State's heating plant burns about 25,000 to 27,000 tons of coal a year, which produces steam that heats the university's buildings and water. The steam also heats Ball Memorial Hospital.
"The environmental issue comes with the burning of coal," Lowe said.
Blakney said the smoke stacks are releasing numerous toxins into the air including carbon monoxide, mercury and sulfur. These coal emissions can cause health problems such as asthma.
Some ways to make the plant more environmentally sound would be fluidized bed boilers or using crushed coal mixed with limestone, Lowe said. The limestone would settle the sulfur, so less would come out of the smoke stacks.
If the plant is decided on, Ball State could possibly see a new plant in the next eight to 10 years, Lowe said.
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