European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday september 20. 19hs the stars and stripes Page 3 Energy news Dod Coal shipment Rule May end by Clint Swift Washington Bureau Washington the House and Senate tentatively have agreed to allow the Pentagon to Stop ship Ping Coal to Germany to heal . Bam but the prospects for ending the shipments Are unclear. Reversing the 25-year-old, $50 million a year requirement to heat . Bases in Germany with Ameri can Coal is a High priority for commanders of . Forces in Europe. They have been squeezed Between congressional orders and increasingly strict German anti pollution Laws. Richard Bun . Ambassador to Germany has written Congress that ill will caused by the inability . Forces to comply with local German Law could have negative implications for .-Gcrman relations. The Senate has approved a portion of a Bill to let the military convert . Heating plants in Europe to Oil or natural Gas fuel if it is Cost effective or if the Host government requires it. It also passed an amendment requiring the defense department to convert some base Healing plants in the states to raise Dod Coa consumption by another 1.6 million tons a year by 1994, in its Bill the House instructs the Pentagon to use German Utility systems for heating wherever practical. It lets the Pentagon us solid liquid or Gas fuels i heating . Bases meaning the , bases would not have to be converted. Jeffrey Jones head of the defense Energy policy office said in in t Clear How the two pieces of legis lation will be reconciled. But the House defense appropriations committee report precludes any change for at least a year. Ii directs the defense department to study whether in would be Cost effective to replace aging . Coal fired Bailers with plants thai would meet new German clean air standards and be built with German private sector financing. The military has been required to ship american Coal to Europe to heat its bases since 1961, when presi Dent Kennedy ordered it to help the slumping Domestic Anthracite Industry. In 1972, Congress barred the military from converting from the world War Vintage Coal fired boilers to More modern plants fuelled by Oil or natural Gas. To 1985, Congress prohibited the military from sign ing any More contracts to buy heal from German District heating facilities and ordered in to add a year Supply More than 500.000 tons of . Coal to its 100,000-Ion Reserve in Europe As a strategic  last year the Pentagon was ordered to buy at East 302,000 tons of Anthracite each year and to raise its Tola Coal consumption by 1.6 million tons annually by 1994. The Effort 10 drop the overseas Coal requirement has been led by rep. William Danny Meyer a Calif and sen. Phil Gramm a Texas the requirement s opponents Call it one of the clearest examples of pork barrel legislation in modern times. Champions of the Coal Industry cloak inc require ments in the Mantle of National Security. One said the 1973 Oil embargo showed thai America cannot afford to rely on foreign sources of fuel. Sen. John Heinz r-pa., said the Coal Industry must survive and the requirement represents jabs for 2,000 to 3,000 Pennsylvania miners. Pentagon officials scoff Ai he National Security arguments saying that fuel for tanks and jews is a strategic necessity but thai during War troops won t be in heir Barracks to know whether they Are heated. They Point out that German District heating plants arc  serve the German population and German bases so they will be a High priority if they break Down. The defense department can t keep the Industry healthy said Millard Carr assistant for facilities Energy in inc defense Energy programs office. He said defense consumption represents Only one fiftieth of i percent of . Bituminous Coal production and 4.5 percent of animal Anthracite production. In a May 19 letter reprinted in inc congressional record maj. Gen. Scott Smith Deputy chief of staff for engineering at he Usa eur in Heidelberg said German statistics show damage to forests there has spread from 8 percent of Trees in 1982 to so percent in 19s5. He said German Law requires thai Coal fired plants meet new clean air standards within five years and that in would Cost 1140 million to bring existing army plants up to that Standard. He said in would Cost 3.s limes As much to build a new Coal fired Plant Aslo build a new Oil or Gas fuelled one. He said in would Cost 2.s limes As much to run and maintain a Coal Plant As one of the alternatives. Buying heal from German District plants would Cost 20 percent less than running a bituminous Coal Plant and 40 percent less than an Anthracite facility he said. Smith estimated the army could save $500 million Over 25 years if it were permitted to meet its Healing needs in the most Cost effective Way James Wade assistant Secretary of defense Tor acquisition and logistics proposed in August 1985 to end the requirement to ship Coal overseas and proposed to convert some of 37 . Bases to heal with Coal where it made economic sense. The Pentagon proposed to leave the conversions to private firms which would put up the estimated $1.4 billion needed and then sell heal to the military. Last year Congress accepted inc proposal to convert the . Plants bul also retained the requirement to ship Coal overseas. Use of German utilities helps area torn up to Cut military s Energy costs by conversion / of by Mike Heronemus by Mike Heronemus St of writer while Congress concerns itself with protecting America s Coal Industry Usa eur is working to keep ils soldiers and families warm at a cheaper Cost. Current , Law requires american posts in Europe to use american Coal in their heating plants. In also prohibits conversion of Coal plants to Oil or Consolida we re trying to be Good resource managers and to spend the tax payers Dollar  Carey c. Jones Tion of facilities to District heating. We re not defying any Laws said Carey c. Jones who is responsible for policies making sure Usa eur soldiers and their families have adequate heal we re trying to be Good resource managers and to spend the taxpayers Dollar  a defense department request to Congress to set aside the restrictions stated the Cost of running about2,500 hand fired pre world War ii boilers at army and air Force bases in Germany is i it times that needed 10 run modern facilities. More than is million is spent each year to Shi Coal from the United states to Europe according to a defense department estimate. Usa eur buys about 385,000 ions of Coal each year said Don Fournier. An Engineer at Usa eur he. Heating costs for Usa eur in fiscal 1985 totalled j274 minion including Plant maintenance personnel costs and the Purchase of Coal Jones said he sees conversion to District heating As a Way Usa eur can save substantial Money on utilities. Usa eur s efforts to gel congressional approval for exceptions to Legal restraints have resulted in 52 contracts for German utilities to provide . Installations with heat said Joe Montasano e. Usa eur Engineer. Of those Only about is projects have been completely or partially hooked up Pomasano said. Most of those have been connected for a year to 18 months. The other 34 projects under contract May not be completed for two three or four years he said. Another 29 District Healing projects arc included in the fiscal 1987 budget Jones said. They like earlier proposals arc being requested for economical and environmental reasons he said.. Air Force bases in Germany Are generally not in locations where connection to District heal would be economical said Gaston c. Josl a mechanical Engi Neer at Safe he Ramstein  a is one exception. A project currently under Way there will lie the base s housing area into a brewery right across the Road to Lake advantage of waste heal produced As part of the brewing process. The brewery can sell us hoi water heat much cheaper than we can produce it Josl  conversion to District heating at Pitburg a began this summer and the first units will come on line in december Josl said. Al present the 1,200 family units Are being healed by about so boiler plants and a hot water circulation system which will allow easy connection to a converter at the brewery he said. Savings of about 31 percent a year on Energy costs alone Are expected by converting to District Healing Al Tilburg a said capt David Paine Energy conserva Tion officer at Pitburg. Fuel to heat the housing Are from july 1985 to july 1986 Cost $844,000, so savings should be about 1262,000 yearly depending on the Mark Exchange rate he  estimates do not include savings on labor and maintenance costs he said. Usa eur wide savings were not available to the stars and  know we re saving Money More than we even hoped to Jones said. A 1984 special report to Congress showed usar eur could save Over shoo million in 25-year life Cycle Cost if it were allowed to convert to the most econom ical heating source . Gen. Scott b. Smith Usa eur Deputy chief of staff Tor engineering reiterated the report s assertions in a May letter. District Healing purchased like electricity and water from local municipalities seems the most Relia ble least costly heating option Smith wrote. B staff writer Fulda Germany conversion to District heal at Downs Barracks has torn inc Community apart literally. Virtually every Street on Post will have been dug up sometime during the eight month project to Lay More than eight Miles of new hot water lines said a. Dominic Izzo director of engineering and housing. The $3.8 million project which includes building con versions has been under construction since March and i scheduled to end in october with Complete Hookup of Post and housing areas Izzo said. Construction of the new natural Gas heating Plant eliminates army operation of 30 smaller boilers and ends jobs for 11 Boilerman who helped operate them. The new heat ing Plant will be run and maintained by Fulda Gas and waterworks. The switch from steam heat will end the environmental effects of Fth old Coal boilers at Down Barracks and save the Community Money. We wanted to update the heating system Izzo  of the system was built in the 30s. The system is virtually unchanged since the germans had the  Izzo estimated the army s investment in switching Lodi strict Healing at Downs Barracks will be paid for by heating Cost savings within seven years. Thai would cover construction costs and includes avoidance of maintenance and personnel costs which would have been paid had the switch nol been made. Izzo calculates a saving of Al least 30 percent in heat consumption once the new system is operating in  heat will save More Money for me than turn ing everyone s heat Down five degrees on the old system he said is group a danish firm designed the pipeline sys tem and is overseeing its construction. Primary contractors for the pipelines and conversion of buildings Are two German firms Brachie in Nuernberg and Zimmer in Fulda. Pipes Range in diameter from 12 inches to i Inch and Ore pc insulated to prevent heal loss. Sensors along the lines Are connected to a Monitor which will indicate an Breaks in a line. Temperature of the water Al the Supply Point will Regis Ter 19s degrees fahrenheit and 125 degrees fahrenheit at the farthest Point in the line. The three boilers in the new Plant have heat recovery systems to keep beat loss from exceeding 3 percent to 8 percent