EPA OKs coal-fired ferry for another season on Lake Michigan

May 15, 2015 9:48 am Leave a comment

Passengers board the 410-foot S. S. Badger Friday morning, May 15, 2015, at the Lake Michigan Carferry Dock in Ludington, Mich. More than 300 passengers boarded the ship for the maiden voyage of the 2015 sailing season. It is also the first trip across Lake Michigan with the recently installed ash retention System in place. (Jeff Kiessel/Ludington Daily News via AP)

Operators of a 63-year-old coal-fired passenger ferry that carries people and cars across Lake Michigan between Wisconsin and Michigan have made the necessary environmental improvements to keep the vintage vessel in service, U.S. regulators announced Thursday.

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Cleaner SS Badger set to sail Lake Michigan

May 13, 2015 9:27 am Leave a comment

The S.S. Badger docks June 17 in Manitowoc. A provision approved by the U.S. House would allow the nation's last coal-powered steamship to continue dumping waste ash into Lake Michigan. (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

A coal-fired passenger ferry is set to return to service on Lake Michigan after undergoing a makeover to meet terms of a deal with the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Surviving Great Lakes coal-fired ship gets new lease on life

January 19, 2015 10:06 am Leave a comment

Pipes and components rest on pallets on the car deck of the SS Badger on Jan. 12. They are being installed in the ferry that runs between Ludington, Mich., and Manitowoc, Wis., to eliminate pollution caused by the dumping of coal ash into Lake Michigan from the 62-year-old ferry. Michigan. (AP Photo/Ludington Daily News, Steve Begnoche)

The last coal-fired steamship operating in U.S. waters is undergoing a makeover to meet the terms of a deal with the Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate pollution from the disposal of coal ash.

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SS Badger gets new system to reduce coal ash

May 6, 2014 9:06 am Leave a comment

SS Badger employees and contractors work below deck in the boiler and engine rooms of the 410- foot ship all winter. When the SS Badger sets sail May 16, the venerable and historic carferry will sport new combustion controls that will enable it to burn coal more efficiently. That should result in less coal being burned and less ash being produced by the Badger. (AP Photo/Ludington Daily News, Jeff Kiessel)

When the SS Badger sets sail May 16, the venerable and historic car ferry will sport new combustion controls that will enable it to burn coal more efficiently. That should result in less coal being burned and less ash being produced by the Badger.

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US judge OKs deal over coal ash dumping

October 11, 2013 11:46 am Leave a comment

A federal judge has signed off on a consent agreement with a car ferry operator that eventually will stop the country's last coal-powered ferryboat from dumping waste ash into Lake Michigan.

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Badger could stop dumping coal ash by 2015

September 16, 2013 9:07 am Leave a comment

The S.S. Badger passes the north breakwater light May 12, 2006, at Ludington, Mich. On one level, it's a straightforward case of a business seeking a government permit to discharge wastewater. But, when the Environmental Protection Agency rules shortly on whether to let the S.S. Badger car ferry continue dumping ash into Lake Michigan, it will be a milestone in a decades-old effort to keep afloat the last coal-fired steamship operating on U.S. waters. (AP file photo by Andy Klevorn/Ludington Daily News)

The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency agreed to enter a revised consent agreement with a ferry operator that would stop the nation's last coal-fired ferryboat from dumping waste ash into Lake Michigan prior to the start of the 2015 sailing season.

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Wind turbines headed for Michigan

May 29, 2013 10:40 am Leave a comment

Nearly 300 oversized truckloads of turbine sections destined for a Michigan wind farm development are being ferried to Ludington, Mich., via the SS Badger.

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SS Badger kicks off season, allowed to dump coal ash (UPDATE)

May 6, 2013 3:22 pm Leave a comment

The S.S. Badger begins its first trip of the year trip across Lake Michigan from Ludington, Mich., to Manitowac, Wisc., Monday, May 6, 2013. As the Badger begins its 60th season, a judge is considering whether to approve a deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would allow the vessel to continue discharging coal ash into the lake for another two years while developing a plan to store the ash onboard. (AP Photo/Ludington Daily News, Jeff Kiessel)

The SS Badger, the nation's last operating coal-fired ferryboat, kicked off its sailing season Monday while awaiting word on a proposed deal with the government over releasing waste ash into Lake Michigan.

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View from around the state: SS Badger will keep steaming

April 2, 2013 1:57 pm Leave a comment

There's still plenty of life left in the SS Badger, the historic ferry that steams across Lake Michigan from Manitowoc to Ludington, Mich., from May to October each year.

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Deal requires ferry to stop ash dumping in 2 years (UPDATE)

March 22, 2013 3:05 pm Leave a comment

the S.S. Badger passes the north breakwater light at Ludington, Mich. On one level, it's a straightforward case of a business seeking a government permit to discharge wastewater. But when the Environmental Protection Agency rules shortly on whether to let the S.S. Badger car ferry continue dumping ash into Lake Michigan, it will be a milestone in a decades-old effort to keep afloat the last coal-fired steamship operating on U.S. waters. (AP File Photo/Ludington Daily News, Andy Klevorn)

The nation's last operating coal-fired ferryboat would stop dumping waste ash into Lake Michigan within two years under a deal with federal regulators announced Friday.

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