Youngstown, Ohio, council halts pyrolysis energy plant

Youngstown City Council has halted plans for an energy plant that would transform used tires into synthetic gas. The one-year pause on the proposed SOBE Thermal Energy Solutions plant has been touted as a win for local environmental advocacy groups, according to coverage by Ideastream Public Media.

Community advocates had raised concerns about SOBE’s plans to convert shredded tires to energy through a process called pyrolysis, citing concern over a lack of research on the effects on public health and the environment.

“We wanted to take that time to study the issue more in depth into the concerns that the residents have both about zoning issues but also just safety, environmental health concerns,” Council President Tom Hetrick tells Ideastream.

Through pyrolysis, viewed by some as a sustainable solution to the growing threat of plastic pollution, used and shredded tires would be heated and converted into synthetic gas that would be used to heat surrounding buildings.

RELATED: EPA administrator reverses course on chemical recycling exemption

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet published a final permit for SOBE. In a letter to council, the agency noted that, even if the EPA issues its final permit to the energy plant, SOBE would have to meet local requirements to operate. According to the story, Hetrick says Council may use the one-year pause to update zoning code to ban pyrolysis operations near residential areas.

“As a city, we do have the authority to regulate land use decisions within the city limits,” Hetrick says. “So, this moratorium is exercising those rights that the city of Youngstown does have.”