Local Media Coverage
Burning Wood and Building an Empire by Dan Gordon, and Suspicions, Statistics, and Editing by Mary Turck, Twin Cities Daily Planet, January 1, 2008. District Energy's role in the Rock-Tenn burner controversy and a look at emissions numbers. Neighbors Fired Up, Say Garbage Burner Idea Stinks, by Darcy Pohland, WCCO, December 10, 2007. Advise and Dissent as Rock-Tenn Community Advisory Panel Faces Port Authority Plans by Dan Gordon, Twin Cities Daily Planet, November 13, 2007. The Biomass Wars: Fuzzy Definitions and Heated Debate by Dan Gordon, Twin Cities Daily Planet, November 11, 2007 Neighbors Get Rock-Tenn Fuel Plan Update by Dave Healy, Park Bugle, July, 2007. Rock-Tenn Plans Encounter Groundswell of Opposition by Jane McClure, Midway Como Monitor, July, 2007. Burning Questions About Recycling in St. Paul by Marisa Helms, Minnesota Public Radio, June 28, 2007. Neighbors Oppose Incinerator Plan by Jason Hoppin, Pioneer Press, June 20, 2007. St. Paul Residents Turn Out for Rock-Tenn Public Forum by Mary Turck, Twin Cities Daily Planet, May 29, 2007.
Background on Rock-Tenn
These articles by Mary Turck, Twin Cities Daily Planet, are a good overview of the Rock-Tenn issue. The Burning Question: Re-fueling Rock-Tenn, March 9, 2007. Who's on First? Keeping Track of the Players, March 9, 2007. The Burning Question: Following the Money, March 11, 2007. Garbage or Green Energy: A Look at the Issues Around RDF, March 12, 2007. Under the Radar—Biomass, Xcell, and Rock-Tenn in the Legislature, April 23, 2007
Rock-Tenn Community Advisory Panel
The Rock-Tenn Community Advisory Panel was set up by the St. Paul Port Authority to exchange information about the proposed development of a renewable energy plant to supply the future needs of Rock-Tenn Company's St. Paul paper recycling facility.
Reports on Rock-Tenn Issue
Analysis of a Biomass/RDF Facility at Rock-Tenn by Ramsey County, July 2006 Total Fuel + Non-Fuel Costs are Lower, and Pollutants Less, for Natural Gas than Biomass for Rock-Tenn by Joseph Miller, February 2008
Contact Your Local St. Paul Elected Officials
(Here's How) The City Council (and the Mayor) must ultimately vote on anything that the St. Paul Port Authority proposes, so the Council and the Mayor DO have the power to stop this burner, even if the Port Authority recommends it. It will also be important to contact our Ramsey County Commissioners to let them know how we feel about this burner. They had previously voted unanimously in favor of this burner, and were, according to officials at Rock-Tenn, the ones who first proposed an RDF burner to Rock-Tenn. It is worth noting that, when the Dakota County Commissioners attempted to build a burner in Dakota County, they all lost their seats in the next election, and the burner was NOT built! Contact Information For: St. Paul City Council St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman Ramsey County Board of Commissioners