Maryland WTE facility receives Clean Air Award from EPA

The Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility (RRF), located in Dickerson, Md., has received the 2014 Clean Air Technology Award from the U.S. EPA. The facility is operated by Covanta, Morristown, N.J..

In recognizing the facility with the award, the EPA notes that the facility has upgraded its emission control system to a low nitrogen oxides (LN) system that cut the facility’s nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions in half.

Covanta says that it developed the LN technology as a retrofit for existing energy-from-waste facilities such as the Montgomery County RRF.

Covanta retrofitted the Montgomery County RRF plant with an emission control system in March 2009, making it the first publicly owned energy-from-waste (EfW) facility in the country to use the LN design. According to Covanta, since its inception, the LN technology has proven to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 400-500 tons-per-year from pre-installation levels.

"I am especially proud that our Resource Recovery Facility, operated by Covanta Montgomery Inc., has been honored for recognizing the potential of new environmental technology such as the LN system and taking steps to upgrade our operation,” says Ike Leggett, Montgomery County executive. “Congratulations to all involved at Covanta for applying this innovative approach to helping reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.”