EPA to Extend Comment Period for WTE Facility in Puerto Rico

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the public comment period for its proposed action to approve an air permit to a company to construct a waste-to-energy facility in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The public will now have until Aug. 31, 2012 to submit their comments.

The agency is holding a series of public hearing sessions to accept public comments on Energy Answers International Inc., which has proposed to construct a 77 megawatt facility at the former site of the Global Fibers Paper Mill in Barrio Cambalache, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

The EPA will hold five formal public hearing sessions spread over three days on Aug. 25, 26 and 27, 2012.

The EPA also will accept written comments or written presentations at the hearing and will allow each person wishing to give oral testimony for up to 10 minutes.

The EPA is proposing an air permit for the facility after evaluating the potential impact of the facility on air quality by comparing it to EPA air quality standards which are established to protect public health.

To obtain the EPA permit, Energy Answers was required to demonstrate that the pollution controls on the plant represented the best available pollution control technology. The proposed permit also requires Energy Answers to test the pollution it emits to the atmosphere and demonstrate that it meets the pollution limits the EPA is proposing to establish. The permit requires emissions limits to be measured and reported to the EPA during operation. Failure to meet any of these permit limits would subject the facility to EPA enforcement actions.

Written comments may be submitted at any time during the comment period, which will now be open until August 31, 2012. EPA's final permit decision will be made only after full consideration of all public comments received.

The documents are also available online through the Interamerican University-Arecibo Campus website at http://www.arecibo.inter.edu/reserva/epa/epa.htm#. In addition, the administrative record is also available for viewing in EPA’s New York offices at 290 Broadway in New York City.