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Department of Ecology News Release - March 9, 2010
10-045
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Ecology is canceling a March 11, 2010, public meeting on a Longview Fibre permit variance. The public comment period affiliated with the mill’s variance request is also ending early.
The cancellation of the meeting and public comment period comes after word from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it can’t approve the permit variance sought by Longview Fibre. While state rules allow the variance, the authority delegation agreement between the EPA and Ecology doesn’t.
Longview Fibre asked Ecology for permission to operate a furnace above current limits for one year while promising to keep emissions at or below permitted levels. The furnace generates steam for the mill.
Under the requested variance, Longview Fibre would have been able to temporarily shut down an older, less efficient furnace and reduce overall sulphur emissions. The mill also could have measured the effectiveness of its pollution control technology on the furnace that would be operating at higher output.
However, the EPA – which delegates its federal air permitting authority to Ecology – said it couldn’t approve the variance request.
Ecology plans to continue talks with the EPA to see if there is a process the mill can use to pursue this project.
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Media Contact: Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239 (desk)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
