LUDINGTON, MI (WKZO) -- The S.S. Badger, the last of the Coal burners to ply the lakes and rivers of the United States will be allowed to apply for a special permit, may get more time to clean up its act. The owners of the car ferry say they need more time to find a way to retrofit the old ship to a cleaner fuel source.
Right now the ferry dumps coal ash into Lake Michigan, as it steams from Ludington to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. That is a practice that will be banned as of December of this year. Right now its owners say they can’t find a financially feasible alternative.
A number of congressmen have been bringing pressure on the EPA to extend the deadline, or drop the case, in order to preserve the jobs created by the ship. Environmentalists say coal ash damages the lake. Michigan Carferry Company will file the application and they will go from there.
