Bill Would Change Electric
Ratemaking in Missouri
State
Rep. Rocky Miller, who represents parts of Camden and Miller Counties near
Osage Beach, introduced the 21st
Century Grid Modernization and Security Act (HB2816). The bill
would substantially change the state’s
method of regulating
electric utility rates. The method is modeled on processes in Illinois
and would allow annual adjustments to electric rates.
Another portion of the bill substantially changes provision related to
special electric rates for aluminum smelters. This is largely driven by Noranda, which operates smelter in New Madrid.
It seems unlikely that lower or more flexible electric rates will save the
company from plummeting aluminum prices.
With the exception of Noranda, large electricity users in Missouri
have generally come out against the proposal. Some companies that have
expressed opposition to the bill are Purina,
Bayer, Ford, General Motors and Procter
& Gamble. You can read more about this topic here.
Poop to Power Project Coming to
North Carolina
Duke
Energy has contracted with Carbon Cycle
Energy for the construction and operation of a facility to process animal
waste to produce methane gas for fuel. Waste will come from area pig and
chicken farms.
The gas will be piped to Duke plants as fuel in electric power generation.
North
Carolina is the second largest pork producing state in the U.S. Duke is a
major electric power producer, particularly in the Carolinas. Carbon Cycle is
based in Colorado.
Barrel Bob Found
Barrel
Bob, a character that serves as spokesman for worksite safety
for the Missouri
Department of Transportation (MoDOT), was found
in Columbia
on April 1 (no fooling) after he was stolen from his roadside station at
highway construction site in Jefferson
City on March 19. The statue, constructed from used orange and
reflective white barrels and cones, was previously set on fire by vandals at
this location.
This statue was one of seven Barrel Bobs. Each of MoDOT’s districts has
one. Bob was scheduled to make appearances at events to promote highway
worksite safety beginning April 11, so the agency had resorted to building a
new statue before Bob was found. You can find out more here,
here
and here.
Missourians Could Vote on Fuel
Tax Increase
A bill (SB623)
is making its way through the Missouri
Senate that could increase the state fuel tax from 17
cents per gallon to 22.9 cents per gallon. The tax, if implemented, is expected
to bring in $240 million annually. The bill would place a referendum on the
November ballot, meaning it would have to be approved directly by voters.
Before getting that far, it must complete its path through the General
Assembly. The Senate is expected to pass the bill in its final vote in the
first full week of April. Afterward it will be considered by the state House
of Representatives, where it is not expected to be warmly received. You can
read more about this here,
here
and here.
Significant funding for Missouri roads comes from the federal
government (which has its own funding issues). MoDOT is preparing to use cash
reserves to match federal grants for transportation projects (more here).
Name a Missouri Highway
An alternative to increased fuel taxes could be the auctioning of
naming rights for highways. There is no estimate of how much revenue it could
raise, but I’ll go out on a limb to say not enough to persuade the General
Assembly to this bill. You can read the bill here.
I have the impression the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who covered this story must have chuckled as
he typed.
Antibiotic Resistance Found in
Bacteria Downstream of Wastewater Discharge
Researchers studying the biofilm in a Spanish
river found antibiotic resistance genes. These genes occurred as far as 1 km
(0.6 mile) downstream from the of a wastewater
treatment plant. The genes provide resistance to some antibiotics commonly used
in hospitals. You can find more here.
In response to the issue of pharmaceutical pollution, some chemists are
considering biodegradable
drugs.
