Residents urge Ottawa County to withdraw support for J.H. Campbell coal plant

At the Jan. 2 organizational meeting of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, three residents urged the board to withdraw a Feb. 25, 2025 resolution that supported delaying closure of the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant.

Ruth Stegeman of Holland said the board's earlier resolution was defensible at the time but argued that repeated federal emergency orders and new cost information change the calculus. "Please rescind your February 2025 resolution, which supported continue operation of the Campbell plant," she said, and cited a Consumers Energy figure of "$615,000 per day" in uncompensated costs that she warned could be passed to ratepayers.

Nathan Olsen, also of Holland, asked the commission to adopt a resolution withdrawing the earlier action "because I'm concerned about the negative health consequences of burning coal" and cited analyses from climate and health groups that tie coal-fired plants to premature deaths, asthma attacks and lost work days. Robert Truro, a power customer who lives near the county border in Allegan County, criticized the 2025 resolution as providing local support for keeping "this outdated, unneeded, and dirty health hazard open," repeated the $615,000-per-day figure and urged the county to rescind the prior position.

The board did not take immediate action on the request during the organizational meeting; members heard the comments as part of the first public-comment period. Commissioners and staff discussed the county's limited direct control over power-plant operations during later agenda items but did not vote on a rescission at this meeting.