Residents urge Ottawa County commissioners to rescind 2025 Campbell-plant resolution

Several residents used the meeting's public-comment period to press the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners to withdraw a February 2025 resolution that supported continued operation of the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant. Ruth Stegeman said the plant's repeated federal emergency operation orders and mounting costs now make reversal appropriate; she urged the board to "stand up for your constituents."

"Please rescind your February 2025 resolution," Stegeman said, asking the board to remove its formal support for delaying the plant's closure. Nathan Olsen followed, telling commissioners he was "asking that the board of commissioners adopt a resolution withdrawing its 02/25/2025 resolution that called upon the Michigan Public Service Commission to delay the closure of the JH Campbell coal fired power plant," and cited health-impact estimates from clinicians and the Clean Air Task Force.

Robert Truro, a power customer who lives near the county border, echoed those concerns and repeated a figure he attributed to Consumers Energy: "$615,000 per day," which he said would eventually be passed to ratepayers. Truro said the earlier county resolution provides evidence of local support that could be used to keep the plant open and urged commissioners to rescind it rather than enabling higher costs for customers.

The three speakers tied their appeals to health and economic impacts: Stegeman and Olsen urged an accelerated shift toward renewable energy options such as community solar, and Olsen referenced clinician groups connecting particulate pollution to respiratory and cardiovascular harms. The board did not take action on the requests during the meeting; public comment concluded before commissioners moved to organizational business.