Kazoonerd wrote:Assembling political pressure worked for many years for the Delta Queen on the Ohio & Mississippi. I'd have to assume that the LMC has been working that route but I don't know that for a fact. It would take a sophisticated lobbying effort. It should also be noted that the Delta Queen's reprieve was time-limited and she is now a riverfront hotel. The people who have pull are the historic preservation people. If they would weigh in, it would likely be a different story.
The SS Badger folks used a significant amount of political capital already. They've dodged a few bullets through the years. Among them:
1) Smoke ordinance issues in Milwaukee during the 1960s/1970s - the city was writing them tickets for excessive smoke and ash. Ludington, Manitowoc and Kewaunee were more lenient even though complaints were received.
2) Abandonment hearings in the 1970s. C&O would have scrapped this ship if they were allowed by the ICC.
3) Asbestos lawsuits. In the early 1980s the C&O ships were linked to at least one worker death from asbestos exposure. The case was settled for $200,000 + and the railroad was allowed to say clean up was "too expensive" and leave it as-is.
4) The 1983 Glen Bowden sale. C&O sold SS Badger, Spartan and City of Midland for $1. They sweetened the pot by giving MWT free coal, dirt cheap rent and 20% of all salary costs and all shipyard costs for 6 years. C&O would have surely scrapped or mothballed the ships without Bowden's deal.
5) Bankruptcy - the Conrad group was not the high bidder and he was up against a couple groups that wanted to scrap the ships.
6) The 1986 Michigan Clean Air Exemption and 1991 Wisconsin Clean Air Act exemption - without them, the Badger would have been shut down for not meeting air pollution standards.
7) 2001 efforts by the State of Michigan to get the ship converted. The state actually offered the company $1 million to help with the conversion, but the owners decided to decline because of the relatively cheaper cost of coal.
8) The EPA coal ash dumping grace period. LMC had to spend a lot of time and money lobbying for the time to get the ship converted.
[quote="Kazoonerd"]Assembling political pressure worked for many years for the Delta Queen on the Ohio & Mississippi. I'd have to assume that the LMC has been working that route but I don't know that for a fact. It would take a sophisticated lobbying effort. It should also be noted that the Delta Queen's reprieve was time-limited and she is now a riverfront hotel. The people who have pull are the historic preservation people. If they would weigh in, it would likely be a different story.[/quote]
The SS Badger folks used a significant amount of political capital already. They've dodged a few bullets through the years. Among them:
1) Smoke ordinance issues in Milwaukee during the 1960s/1970s - the city was writing them tickets for excessive smoke and ash. Ludington, Manitowoc and Kewaunee were more lenient even though complaints were received.
2) Abandonment hearings in the 1970s. C&O would have scrapped this ship if they were allowed by the ICC.
3) Asbestos lawsuits. In the early 1980s the C&O ships were linked to at least one worker death from asbestos exposure. The case was settled for $200,000 + and the railroad was allowed to say clean up was "too expensive" and leave it as-is.
4) The 1983 Glen Bowden sale. C&O sold SS Badger, Spartan and City of Midland for $1. They sweetened the pot by giving MWT free coal, dirt cheap rent and 20% of all salary costs and all shipyard costs for 6 years. C&O would have surely scrapped or mothballed the ships without Bowden's deal.
5) Bankruptcy - the Conrad group was not the high bidder and he was up against a couple groups that wanted to scrap the ships.
6) The 1986 Michigan Clean Air Exemption and 1991 Wisconsin Clean Air Act exemption - without them, the Badger would have been shut down for not meeting air pollution standards.
7) 2001 efforts by the State of Michigan to get the ship converted. The state actually offered the company $1 million to help with the conversion, but the owners decided to decline because of the relatively cheaper cost of coal.
8) The EPA coal ash dumping grace period. LMC had to spend a lot of time and money lobbying for the time to get the ship converted.