TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A federal deadline passed Wednesday for the S.S. Badger ferryboat to stop dumping waste coal ash into Lake Michigan, and prospects were murky for the historic vessel that boosts the economy and civic pride in port towns in Michigan and Wisconsin.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2008 gave owners of the Badger — the nation’s last working coal-fired steamship — a four-year grace period to change its ash disposal method or fuel type. The company says it’s looking for alternatives but needs more time and is seeking a new permit. Without authorization to discharge the ash, the ship can’t operate.

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