Clean Air News Items
Chronological listing of Clean Air posts
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2022
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Aug. 03, 2022: The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League has released a report which shows that hazardous air quality during the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire was downplayed. |
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Jun. 06, 2022: The Chemours facility has caused massive pollution in the Cape Fear region and the pollution is ongoing. Thousands of people have been impacted. |
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2021
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Sep. 22, 2021: The Burlington North draft permit made available for public comment on the NC DAQ website contained numerous errors and must be denied. These errors include duplicate numbering of conditions and an exclusion of a referenced condition. In addition, there are several issues with the air modeling which was completed to demonstrate compliance with criteria and hazardous air pollutant standards. Revised air modeling analysis and a revised draft permit must be posted. The Prospect Hill Quarry Distribution Center needs revised air modeling analysis including cumulative impacts from the nearby already permitted Carolina Sunrock facility on Wrenn Road. Until the cumulative impacts are considered, this permit must be denied. |
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Mar. 03, 2021: This facility will significantly impact the ambient air quality of the surrounding community affecting public health. We are respectfully requesting that NCDAQ require AERMOD air modeling for ITD at least for the criteria pollutant of NO2. Our air modeling results indicate that the ITD facility has a high probability of exceeding the NAAQS ambient air quality 1-hr standard for NO2 - especially when adding the background concentration. |
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2020
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May 04, 2020: Today, residents of Caswell County made a formal request to the Board of Commissioners for a comprehensive review of existing and proposed paving industry permits in the Prospect Hill and Anderson communities. The request echoed one made Thursday to the Division of Air Quality by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. |
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Jan. 07, 2020: The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and Protect Our Fresh Air have joined Ashe County's legal challenge of an asphalt plant permit in Glendale Springs. On January 2, 2020, the citizen groups filed a friend-of-the-court brief, known as an amicus curiae, in the Supreme Court of North Carolina. The groups' legal arguments will be considered by the high court alongside the appeal filed by the Ashe County Board of Commissioners, which also calls for denial of the county polluting industries permit. |
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2019
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Nov. 04, 2019: The Dynax facility has been issued at least three violations within the decade. We applaud VA DEQ for inspections and enforcement so that Dynax adheres to permit conditions. However, to better protect public health and welfare, VA DEQ should strengthen permitting requirements instead of allowing emission increases - once a problem has been discovered. |
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Nov. 04, 2019: We support the removal of the startup, shutdown, malfunction exemption. |
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BREDL chapter Sustainable Madison has aired 2 radio spots expressing the group's concerns regarding a proposed asphalt plant in Madison County.
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April 1, 2019: BREDL comments included: "40 to 85 percent of the fuel burned produces no electric power. But air pollution and global
warming gases are created by combustion whether power is produced or not. Moreover, how the turbines are managed and the conditions under which they operate affect efficiency and air pollution emissions."
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On January 31, 2019, we presented a letter of request to the Madison County Board of Health. At the meeting, the medical director made some very disconcerting comments: that asphalt plant pollution is less worrisome than second-hand cigarette smoke. Clearly, many people do not understand the gravity of the air pollution problem posed by asphalt manufacturing in mountain regions. We are planning to bring the issue up again at the County Commissioners meeting on February 12.
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2018
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Statewide Radio Ad Campaign Launched
Dec. 14, 2018: Today the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League announced a statewide radio ad campaign targeting Governor Ralph Northam’s interference in the air permitting decision on the proposed natural gas compressor station slated for Buckingham County.
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Nov. 30, 2018: Lovingston, VA—Today, on behalf of its members and chapters in Virginia, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) called upon Virginia Inspector General Michael Westfall to investigate the firing of two State Air Pollution Control Board members by Governor Ralph Northam. The request also cites threats by the state attorney general to disband the Governor’s Advisory Council on Environmental Justice. The request centers on a proposed natural gas pipeline compressor station air permit.
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Nov. 8, 2018: On behalf of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and our chapter the Concerned
Citizens of Richmond County, I write to request that the DAQ perform a Multiple Source
Review in the Hamlet area before approving the Enviva Permit which today is the subject of a
public hearing. |
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Oct. 25, 2018: We are concerned that the air pollution created by the combustion of fuel at the University’s physical plant presents a serious risk to the health and well-being of residents in the Chapel Hill area. A public hearing would allow the NC Division of Air Quality (DAQ) to ascertain the
potential public health risks before finalizing this permit.
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Ashe County, North Carolina
Many rural counties are defending themselves as best they can from the negative impacts of coal ash dumping, natural gas pipelines and asphalt plants. The state issues air and water permits for industrial facilities, but local governments can control where they are located. Countywide polluting industries ordinances can do this. In the Ashe County case, a disabled children’s camp is located near the site of a proposed asphalt plant.
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Sept. 11, 2018: If permitted, the Buckingham Compressor Station would be a major source of air pollution. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has incorrectly determined that it would be a minor source. We recommend immediate steps be taken to correct this error. Further, unless and until the Virginia Supreme Court rules, and local governing bodies in Buckingham County to do a proper assessment of the disproportionate impacts on economically disadvantaged or minority communities in and around Union Hill, any air permit issued by Virginia DEQ would lack the necessary legal basis.
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Aug. 9, 2018: The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and its chapter Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff have filed detailed comments opposing the state’s air pollution permit for Plant Vogtle. In the comments, the groups oppose the excessive levels of hazardous air pollution emitted from the cooling towers and other sources in a community already stressed by power plant impacts. They called upon the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to reject the permit.
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July 25, 2018: The setting of overall tonnage limits as contemplated in the draft GSM is wholly inadequate. It should be abandoned. A practical, enforceable method would be a better approach for the permittees, the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the people of South Carolina.
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2017
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Nov. 20, 2017: This new facility would move gas along the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. If permitted, the Northampton Compressor Station would be a major source of air pollution. The NC Department of Environmental Quality draft permit incorrectly allows the facility to be a minor source, a violation of the federal Clean Air Act.
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May 25, 2017: Today the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and chapter Protect Our Fresh Air appealed to the state to reopen the asphalt plant air pollution permit issued last year to Appalachian Materials. A six-page letter pointed to the state’s failure to account for the permit’s impact on Camp New Hope, a refuge for children with life-threatening medical conditions just a few hundred yards from the site of the proposed asphalt plant.
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2016
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Dec. 14, 2016: The report, subtitled “Unfair, Illegal and Unjust,” concludes that the Buckingham County Planning Commission failed with respect to its legal obligation to ensure that the facility does not have a disproportionate impact on Buckingham’s African American community.
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Oct. 24, 2016: In our experience, the petitioning of the US Environmental Protection Agency under Title V of the Clean Air Act is an unsatisfactory procedural exercise with an unacceptable outcome. EPA response has been slow to non-existent. The deadlines required of the public to file petitions are cast in concrete, but the statutory deadlines applying to the agency are written in sand. The EPA should view petitioners as allies, not as adversaries. Our comments include highlights from three petitions in which state agencies failed to adhere to federal law.
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On February 24, 2016, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and three other environmental organizations filed a lawsuit in US District Court to compel the US Environmental Protection Agency to update long-overdue standards for thirteen types of industries which emit hazardous air pollution. The goal of the lawsuit is to force EPA to fulfill its mandate to review and determine the risk to public health and set more stringent standards. Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s legal representative in this case is Nicholas Morales, Associate Attorney for Earthjustice in Washington, DC. The other plaintiffs bringing the lawsuit are Clean Wisconsin, Midwest Environmental Defense Center and the Sierra Club.
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2015
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On October 8, 2015 Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and Concerned Citizens of Richmond County stood in front of the HQ of NCDENR in Raleigh, NC to announce that they have renewed their citizen's lawsuit against EPA and the state's permit for failure to properly regulate Duke Energy's Turbines in Hamlet, NC. The citizens of Richmond county are already being harmed with excessive amounts of air pollution from Duke's power plant.
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Oct. 1, 2015: The report concludes that the North Carolina Division of Air Quality's draft permit would not meet state standards for toxic air pollution and recommends that Ashe County take steps to ensure that its Polluting Industries Ordinance be strengthened in order to protect the health and safety of its people.
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Public Comment Period: September 4 through October 6. |
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BREDL and High Country Wataugans Against Toxins Close to Home July 7, 2015 letter to Watauga County Board of Commissioners regarding Amendments to the High Impact Land Use Ordinance.
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June 30, 2015: Today BREDL and its local chapter CHASE recommended that officials in Dekalb County Georgia order a Developments of Regional Impact (DRI) study to assess impacts of a proposed asphalt plant in Lithonia. DRIs are done for projects likely to have regional effects beyond local government jurisdiction. Pollution from an asphalt plant would have a negative impact on the Atlanta area, which is already designated as being in non-attainment for national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for PM-2.5 and ozone.
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2014
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Dec. 1, 2014: The EPA Clean Power Plan's reliance on nuclear power, biomass and natural gas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is misplaced. Therefore, we recommend that the EPA abandon its assumptions regarding these three methods of generating electricity. Without this baggage, the Clean Power Plan's carbon reduction goals are still achievable, at less cost and without damage to the environment and public health.
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Nov. 13, 2014: Today the Watauga Citizens for Local Control requested that the Watauga County
Board of Commissioners adopt a buffer zone of 1,500 feet between polluting industries
and residential dwellings, commercial buildings and churches. The group said that
augmented buffer zones, or setbacks, would better protect people from smoke, noise and
health risks caused by asphalt plants, electric power facilities, fuel storage tanks and other
industrial facilities. The county already requires such setbacks from daycare centers,
schools and nursing homes.
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Oct. 2014: The Piedmont Natural Gas—Wadesboro Compressor Station is one of many similar units strung like beads on natural gas pipelines. They emit huge amounts of toxic air pollution, and this one is no exception. The permit recently issued by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality suffers from fatal flaws which result in excessive amounts of air pollution and place a disproportionate burden on low income and minority populations in Wadesboro, North Carolina.
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Power Plant in Hamlet, NC
Sept. 17, 2014: Cary Rodgers, the League's NC Environmental Justice Organizer, said, "Long-time residents tell they are awakened at three o'clock in the morning by loud noises from Duke Energy's combustion turbine power plant. And the air around their homes is filled with bitter tasting smoke." He added, "We are demanding that the EPA offset the disproportionate impact of pollution on this community with a corresponding level of resources and technology to correct the ongoing environmental injustice." Reflecting on the company's shift to natural gas, Lou Zeller, Executive Director of the League, said, "The shift to natural gas is not helping at all. In fact, during the last four years the overall level of pollution at this plant has nearly tripled."
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The negative impacts of the Duke Energy Progress fossil fuel power plant in Hamlet, NC, on health, livelihood and well-being of local residents require immediate attention. The Richmond power plant is located in a county with a high percentage of African American residents and a high number of people below poverty level. Environmental justice law indicates that the disproportionate impacts of air pollution should be offset by greater attention to pollution sources and the reduction of air pollution wherever possible.
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The Piedmont Natural Gas compressor station is located in Wadesboro, North Carolina. Power for the compressor is provided by eight internal combustion engines, each rated at 4,735 hp. Annual emissions of CO2e are 203 thousand tons per year, plus over 8 tons of formaldehyde and other pollutants. Why would anyone believe that natural gas is a substitute for other fossil fuels?
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Group Says Bill is an Attack on Communities
May 22, 2014: Raleigh- Yesterday, the North Carolina Senate passed S734, which will seriously diminish the
state’s ambient monitoring network. If it becomes law, the bill will require the Division of Air
Quality to take any ambient monitor not required by the Environmental Protection Agency offline
by September 1, 2014. Additionally, the Lee County monitoring station, set up in 2013 to do
baseline monitoring of the air prior to any hydraulic fracturing activities, may be on the list.
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Reveals Environmental Agency Skirted State Law March 12, 2014: Raleigh- Today, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL)
charged that the NC Division of Air Quality has violated state law in pending changes to
the state air toxics standards. BREDL revealed that state employees who were exempted
by Governor McCrory from state personnel protections have been improperly utilized as
hearing officers by the Division of Air Quality. According to the law, exempt employees
cannot serve as hearing officers.
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Opposes Wadley Biomass Plant
Feb. 18, 2014: Today the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League announced that, based on federal law, a public hearing must be held before the Rural Utilities Service moves in support of a proposed biomass power plant in Wadley. In comments submitted to Rural Utilities Service, the League detailed the hearing requirement and other problems presented by the proposed action.
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Burning wood and scrap tires to produce power in the 21st Century is such a bad idea that it beggars description; tires are not biomass. The residents of Jefferson County and Georgia do not deserve an additional, unnecessary source of toxic air pollution imposed upon their community.
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Jan. 29, 2014: Today two groups announced the filing of a Clean Air Act lawsuit with the US Environmental Protection Agency against the permit for the Richmond County Combustion Turbine Facility in Hamlet.
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2013
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 December 2013: BREDL Report 13-346: Toxic air pollution levels based on the permit present an unacceptable level of risk to the residents living near the plant site. The permit should provide no confidence to county officials that public health and agricultural livelihood would be protected.
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Oct. 2, 2013: Group Opposes Expanded Permit for Duke Energy Progress - Study Reveals Excessive Levels of Air Toxics |
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Sept. 19, 2013: Today members of three BREDL chapters testified at the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission public hearing in Raleigh: Neighborhood Environmental Watch's Julius Kerr from Alamance County, Sampson County Citizens for a Safe Environment's Jean Bryson, and Citizens for a Safe Environment's Deborah Kornegay from Duplin County. All spoke against the latest attempt to undermine the state's toxic air pollutant program, outlined in BREDL's letter to the Commission. The public comment period ends October 14th.
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Sept 12, 2013: At a press conference today, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL), joined by
Alamance, Anson and Lee County residents, called on the North Carolina Environmental Management
Commission (EMC) to require regulation of fracking air emissions. |
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Calls for Action to Protect Public Health
Aug. 20, 2013: The ATSDR’s public health assessment falls short in its analysis of offsite health impacts from the toxic air pollutants emitted from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. In our report entitled Sow the Wind–Toxic Air Pollution from the Savannah River Site, we investigated the air toxics which are emitted from large and small smokestacks at SRS and how they interact to raise downwind pollution levels in Jackson, New Ellenton, Williston and other communities.
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June 13, 2013: Upon review of Division of Air Quality files, it is clear that public health was not the
driving force behind the changes. |
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People For Clean Mountains (PCM) has called on Transylvania County
Commissioners to enact a moratorium for 18 months on any further development of the
proposed Penrose biomass facility. |
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An application has been submitted to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by
RD-Penrose 1, a subsidiary of RENEWable Developers, LLC for a certificate of
convenience and public necessity for an electric generating plant near Brevard, NC. If approved, the
plant would use up to 100 tons per day of household trash and wood waste to
generate up to 4 megawatts of electricity.
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Used tires are a dirty fuel. Up to 20% of the power from the proposed facility in Jefferson County would be provided by scrap tires. Even with pollution control devices in place, burning tires create toxic air pollution.
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"The changes in North Carolina's health-based air toxics regulations will mean increased illness and decreased quality of life. Thousands of citizens across the state will be exposed to more toxic air pollution due to a decision made to benefit industry's bottom line. BREDL's over twenty year support of these standards has not ended because of changes made during last years legislative session. We will continue to stand our ground, to monitor how the rules will be implemented, and to expose those who stand to gain from this assault on public health."
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2012
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 BREDL Report - Taking Action Against Hot-Dip Galvanizing Pollution. |
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On June 29, 2012, Superior Court Judge Howard E Manning ordered that the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (DAQ) keep documents confidential that were previously ruled to be public by that agency. The judge’s order was contrary to the arguments made by the NC Attorney General’s office and the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, which supported DAQ. The judge ruled that, although emissions information was public information, it would be unfair to South Atlantic Galvanizing to release the documents, despite State and Federal law.
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June 2012: Weakening North Carolina’s Air Toxics Regulations:
Not good for children and other living things
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March 29, 2012:
On behalf of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and our chapter the Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff, I write to provide comments on the Environmental Protection Division’s draft permit. Also, we request that a public hearing be held in Burke County before a permitting decision is made to enable residents to provide comments to EPD.
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March 23, 2012: It would be a classic case of environmental injustice if the State of Georgia were to permit a facility which emits excessive levels of toxic air pollution in Wadley. Compounding the injustice, burning wood and scrap tires to produce power in the 21st Century is such a bad idea that it beggars description. The prospect of a few jobs need not and must not sacrifice the health of our communities.
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The burning of wood and tires to produce power is an ill-considered idea; tires should not even be considered to be biomass and the residents of Jefferson County, Georgia do not deserve an additional, unnecessary source of toxic air pollution imposed upon their community.
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of arsenic nine-fold Jan. 25, 2012: Raleigh- Despite latest research calling arsenic “the number one environmental chemical of concern in the US and worldwide, today the North Carolina Science Advisory Board on Toxic Air Pollutants (SAB) voted to recommend the increase of “Acceptable Ambient Levels” of arsenic nine-fold. This, despite the SAB’s own listing of arsenic as the number one substance to be reviewed under their “Prevention Paradigm.”
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2011
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Dec. 9, 2011: At its Roxboro, NC plant, CPI incinerates tired derived fuel (“TDF”), coal, adulterated and unadulterated wood in
order to generate electricity that is then sold to Progress Energy of North Carolina. On October 19, 2011, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
issued a Title V permit for CPI-USA. BREDL has petitioned the U.S. EPA regarding the Title V permit. |
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BREDL Request for Documents Upheld Nov. 18, 2011: Raleigh- Yesterday, the North Carolina Environmental
Management Commission issued a declaratory ruling agreeing with
the North Carolina Division of Air Quality’s (DAQ) decision
to release improperly withheld information on emissions produced
by South Atlantic Galvanizing’s (SAG) facility in Graham,
N.C. SAG had asked the Commission to issue a declaratory ruling
against DAQ’s decision. This re-examination of the issue was
prompted by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL)
requesting documents supporting the Winston-Salem Regional Office’s
2006 decision to keep emissions information confidential as SAG
requested. Therese Vick BREDL staff and author of the document
request said, “State and federal law preclude keeping
emissions information confidential. DAQ Director Sheila Holman
did the proper thing by agreeing to release the documents.
Director Holman acted in the public’s interest.”
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Nov. 15, 2011: Raleigh- Today, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) submitted comments on the risk assessment North Carolina’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) conducted on arsenic, a toxic heavy metal and known human carcinogen. The League expressed its opposition to any increase in arsenic levels. The SAB is recommending that North Carolina’s current health-based limit be increased over nine-fold. BREDL community organizer Therese Vick pointed out that, “By the time a child is 10, they could inhale the same amount of arsenic as a 90-year old.”
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Sept. 28, 2011: Raleigh- At a hearing on North Carolina’s proposed adoption of US EPA’s three-year deferral
on controlling greenhouse gases emitted from biomass incinerators, Blue Ridge Environmental
called for a full financial accounting of the rule’s impact on health care costs. EPA has not
mandated that States adopt the deferral. In addition, BREDL requested a review of the
rulemaking process pointing to attempts by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality to fast
track the process and circumventing public process. |
Sept. 6, 2011: Candor NC- Tonight at a meeting organized by
Candor citizens concerned about a proposed biomass incinerator to
be operated by NC-CHP 1 LLC, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League released their white paper Second Opinion: The Medical
Profession Diagnoses Biomass Incineration. The white paper
compiles statements of concern from medical organizations and
professionals across the country who oppose biomass incineration.
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June 7, 2011: Public health, safety and environmental concerns
must be addressed regarding this ordinance. Citizens must be
allowed a voice in revisions that could allow even more polluting
industries into Alamance County. Our Alamance County children
have many needs, but more pollution is not one of them. - Beverly
Kerr, Community Organizer |
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Campaign Victory Declared by Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and our chapter Citizens for a Healthy Environment  May 2011: Public education, community determination and direct action defeat bureaucratic inertia, financial influence and political pressure. BMWNC is closed! A May 11, 2011 letter to Mecklenburg County's air permit chief from incinerator manager Lewis Renfro states the company has “ceased operations at the incineration facility in Matthews, NC and has begun the process of decommissioning the site.” |
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2010
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New Pollution Study Identifies Harm
Nov. 9, 2010: Today at a press conference in Matthews,
the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and Citizens for a
Healthy Environment released an air pollution study which
concludes that the BMWNC medical waste incinerator is too
dangerous to operate. The groups called for a shut-down of the
incinerator. |
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BREDL comments to NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Air Quality regarding new medical waste incinerator
rules. BREDL urges the effective date of October 6, 2012. |
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League Chapters say 4 years too long to wait for cleaner air Sept. 1, 2010: Members of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League’s two chapters, Citizens for a Healthy Environment (CHE) and Clean Air Now (CAN), will testify at a public hearing sponsored by the NC Environmental Management Commission (EMC). The hearing will take place on Sept 7th at 7 p.m. at the University of North Carolina Greensboro Campus, Moore Humanities & Research Administration, Spring Garden Street, Bldg. 246, Rm. #1215, Greensboro, NC, 27412.
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Aug. 31, 2010: Excerpt from BREDL comments:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized that because
GHG pollutants are emitted at much higher rates than the criteria
pollutants, tens of thousands of facilities would require permits
beginning January 2 unless new threshold limits were set. The
state’s fiscal note for this rule indicates that PSD and
Title V permit applications would total over 50,000 and the
associated costs would total $490 million on an annual basis.
Under these circumstances, the critical need for the tailoring
rule is obvious. |
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Aug. 23, 2010: [Excerpt] The impact of incinerators on human
health is obvious. We support continuous emissions monitoring and
a more transparent reporting system that better informs the
surrounding community. We find that very often communities and
public officials are unaware of the impacts from incinerators.
Readily available data and reports would be a valuable tool.
Continuous emissions monitoring is an essential step toward
making that a reality. |
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Aug. 12, 2010: This week in a bold move, the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League filed a legal challenge to the
proposed air pollution permit at Plant Vogtle. The August 10th
filing was one of the first in the nation under the federal Clean
Air Act challenging excessive radionuclide emissions from nuclear
power. In a petition to the US Environmental Protection Agency,
the League called for rejection of the permit issued by the State
of Georgia because it failed to limit radioactive air pollution,
failed to protect public health and failed to prevent
environmental injustice. |
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Commissioners' Meeting
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Town Meeting |
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April 22, 2010: The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners
have given county residents a fitting Earth Day gift. In an
effort to help protect Matthews-area residents from exposure to
toxic air emissions from the BMWNC medical waste incinerator,
located on the border of Matthews and Stallings, commissioners
unanimously approved two resolutions at their April 20 meeting,
requesting early implementation of the new 2014 EPA guidelines on
medical waste incinerator Title V permits in Mecklenburg County.
The county wants to shave two years off the four years allowed
under the new EPA rules for medical waste incinerators to come
into compliance with the new rules. |
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League calls on MCAQ to re-issue permit under new, more protective EPA rules
April 6, 2010: The Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League has confirmed that the BMWNC medical
waste in incinerator in Matthews, NC, has been operating without
a valid permit since March of 2009. The information was submitted
to the Mecklenburg County Air Quality in comments concerning the
incinerator’s application for a permit renewal. By law, a
medical waste incinerator cannot operate without a valid Title V
air quality permit, and an application for renewal must be
submitted to the governing agency nine months prior to the
expiration date. Read BREDL Press Release
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April 1, 2010: BREDL Comments and Recommendations to Mecklenburg County Department Air Quality concerning renewal of BMWNC Title V Permit renewal for the BMWNC medical waste incinerator, located in Matthews, NC.
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Jacksonville, North Carolina
February 23, 2010: Testimony
of BREDL's Louis A. Zeller before the Onslow County Board of
Adjustment regarding Special Use Permit for asphalt plant
proposed by Morton Trucking, Inc.
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Jan. 31, 2010: BREDL Factsheet: Pollution of the Air, Soil and Water by South Atlantic Galvanizing
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2009
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Nov. 30, 2009: BREDL comments on North Carolina Division of Air
Quality’s preliminary determination that a construction and
operation permit can be issued to Hertford Renewable Energy for a
new 60 MW unadulterated wood-fired boiler in Hertford County.
Read BREDL Comments
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Sept. 15, 2009: BREDL opposes Duke Energy’s
request for authority to increase the rates charged to the 1.8
million customers in their service area. Read BREDL
comments
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Sept. 21, 2009: MXI Environmental
Services in Abingdon, Virginia operates an ethanol recovery
plant. The present air permit allows volatile organic compounds
emissions of 2.08 pounds/hour and 18,240 pounds/year. The new
draft permit would allow emissions of VOCs to rise to 33.37
pounds/hour and 129,880 pounds/year, or 16 times higher and 7
times higher, respectively. According to Virginia DEQ, MXI
violated its permit because of an excessive level of VOCs, the
same toxic compound which MXI now seeks to increase. We believe
it is wrong to issue an expanded permit to a company which is
apparently still out of compliance. |
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Sept. 10, 2009: The MXI Environmental Services
ethanol plant in Abingdon plans to expand operations. DEQ's new
air permit if approved would allow huge increases in emissions of
volatile organic compounds (VOC). |
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April 29, 2009: BREDL joins other
groups in letter to President Obama and EPA Administrator Jackson
regarding dioxin reassessment. |
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April 9, 2009: BREDL comments on the
NC toxic air pollutant rules. The League's major
recommendations: 1) We urge the NC Environmental
Management Commission to eliminate exemptions for industrial
boilers which are part of an air pollution facility which has
other smokestacks covered by the state’s toxic air pollutant
limits; 2) Recent changes in federal law make it more important
than ever for North Carolina to keep its own health-based Toxic
Air Pollutant program in place and make certain that air poison
limits apply to all fossil-fueled combustion sources throughout
the state, including coal-fired electric generating plants.
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Feb. 6, 2009: BREDL comments on NC Division Air Quality’s Proposed Boundaries for Ozone Nonattainment Areas in North Carolina. Read BREDL Comments. As part of our comments, BREDL requests that the NC DAQ support the following recommendations to its Proposed Nonattainment Boundaries:
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2008
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Dec. 31, 2008: Read BREDL comments on NC Combustion Source Exemption - BREDL Comments by Janet Marsh | BREDL Comments by Sue Dayton | BREDL Comments by David Mickey | BREDL Comments by Louis Zeller. Excerpt from comments:
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Nov. 20, 2008: Today at a Durham press
conference, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League released
a report aimed at preventing North Carolina from exempting from
regulation more than 1400 air pollution sources. The study Poison
Loophole details the dangers of toxic air pollution from
coal plants, paper mills and asphalt plants. Read BREDL Press Release | Download
the study Poison
Loophole
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Aug. 2008: The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission has
proposed a rule which would create a permanent exemption in the
state’s health-protective toxic air pollution limits. The
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League believes that the NC EMC
has an obligation to protect the health of all our people by
removing the Combustion Source Exemption. Meeting the state’s
toxic air pollution limits at their property boundaries is not
too much to expect from North Carolina’s electric utilities
and manufacturing industries. A public hearing will be held Oct. 28, 2008 at 7 pm at the NC Division of Air Quality Parker-Lincoln Building in Raleigh. The time for us to organize is now. Contact BREDL for more
information. BREDL Executive Director's Report - AIR POLLUTION DEREGULATION: A GIANT STEP BACKWARD | BREDL
Factsheet
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Aug. 2008: BREDL Factsheet - Incinerator Pollution -
Landfills in the sky |
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2007
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November 2007: Tire Energy Corporation has permanently shut
down its Martinsville, VA facility. We have posted the VA DEQ TEC shut down letter
signed in September.
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Oct. 23, 2007: Today at a press conference in Spruce Pine, the
Mitchell County Citizens for Clean Air and the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League released an air pollution study of
the proposed Young & McQueen asphalt plant which shows that
air toxins would be deposited far from the plant site. The League’s
report shows dangerous levels offsite of formaldehyde, benzene
and arsenic. BREDL
Press Release | BREDL
Air Pollution Study of proposed asphalt plant
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October 2007: Proposed
Young & McQueen asphalt plant Factsheet - Young & McQueen are proposing an asphalt plant
near Spruce Pine in Mitchell County, NC.
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July 30, 2007: ASPHALT PLANTS - CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN: An overview of 7 toxic substances released from asphalt processing facilities and their known effects on human health
|
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2006
|
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October 25, 2006: Lou Zeller's comments at the
Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality hearing on revised permit for Tire Energy Corporation's tire
incinerator in Martinsville, Virginia.
|
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October 17, 2006: Lou Zeller's comments before the VA State Corporation
Commission regarding proposed
coal-fired power plant in Wise County, Virginia.
|
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August 31, 2006: Duke Power proposes to triple the electric
power output of its Cliffside plant near Shelby, North Carolina.
The company predicts that emissions of nitrogen oxides will
double: from about 3,000 tons per year to nearly 6,000 tons/year.
Nitrogen oxides are the primary source of ground level ozone, a
pollutant which frequently exceeds National Ambient Air Quality
Standards in many parts of North Carolina. Ozone is a regional
problem; NOx emissions affect downwind counties and states. |
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July 24, 2006: BREDL and our chapter Be Safe Not Sorry request NC DENR Division of Air Quality require South Atlantic Galvanizing in Graham, NC obtain an air pollution permit. BREDL letter to NC DENR
|
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The League's July 17, 2006 comments reflect our opposition to North Carolina's pending agreement to allow several paper mills, plastics plants, a chromium plant and an aluminum plant to receive unwarranted exemptions from state and federal regulations limiting pollution which causes atmospheric haze: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Such factories should be required to install Best Available Retrofit Technology, also known as BART, to reduce their negative impact on air quality in national parks, wilderness areas and on public health. |
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Feb. 11, 2006: Stericycle
Dental Waste Management Plan - Reducing
Mercury Emissions with Title V Operating Permits.
|
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2005
|
|
The Alleghany County, North
Carolina Board of Commissioners voted unanimously
on November 8, 2005 to endorse a plan to zone
polluting industries and high impact land uses.
The move was done at the request of local
residents led by Alleghany Citizens for
Environmental Safety (ACES) who are concerned
about a proposed asphalt plant locating in Laurel
Springs on N.C. 18. The ordinance effectively
blocks a polluting industry from locating within
2000 feet of a school, day care, nursing home,
medical facility, church or residential dwelling.
The vice president of the asphalt company claims
that the company’s efforts to build are
‘grandfathered in’ because the company
applied for a state air pollution permit.
However, no such right is granted by the mere
submission of a permit application. View the
ordinance that was passed at: http://alleghanycounty-nc.gov/ordinances/1-296.pdf
|
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Nov. 5, 2005: Factsheet: Toxic
Air Pollution Levels in Canton, NC from Blue
Ridge Paper Products, Inc.
|
|
Oct. 20, 2005: Analysis: Asphalt Plant versus Wood Stove
Pollution - Comparing Apples and Hedgehogs (a
household wood stove emits but a tiny fraction of
the pollution emitted by an asphalt plant.)
|
|
October 2005: An Overview of
Polluting Industry Ordinances: The Wilkes County
Model
|
|
Factsheet: Maymead Inc. proposed asphalt
plant in the Laurel Springs community of
Alleghany County, NC. (Oct.
24, 2005)
|
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(Posted online 10/20/05) 2001 Minority
Report on Fugitive Emissions from Asphalt Plants - This report, submitted to EPA in
2001, was co-authored by BREDL and other groups.
|
|
Sept. 15, 1999
BREDL letter to EPA regarding asphalt plant fugitive emissions.
|
|
Sept.
23, 2005: APAC: POLLUTING
WITHOUT BOUNDARIES |
|
APAC Atlantic proposed asphalt
plant in the Henrietta community of Rutherford
County, NC. (Aug. 11, 2005)
|
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BREDL chapter members from Group Against Stericycle Pollution (GASP for Clean Air) joined David Mickey from BREDL and Kelly Heekin from Healthcare Without Harm (HCWH) in a face to face challenge of Stericycle's continued incineration of medical waste in Haw River, NC. Five activists traveled to Chicago where they attended the company's annual shareholder meeting where Martha Hamblin from GASP presented a resolution calling on the company to adopt a plan to stop incineration of medical waste. Excerpts from their statements include:
|
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2004
|
|
Dec. 14, 2004: BREDL and GRVAAQC
comments to VA DEQ regarding determinations as to
Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for the control of nitrogen
oxides (NOx) emissions for Norfolk Southern
Railway Company, Roanoke Cement Company, and
Roanoke Electric Steel Corporation (Roanoke, VA
area).
|
|
Nov. 3, 2004:
Project: Environmental Pollution at Savannah
River Weapons Site |
Date of Project: September 4— 11, 2004 |
Host organizations: Blue Ridge Environmental
Defense League, ISAR Open World Russia Civic
Program | Administered by: Open World Leadership
Center at the Library of Congress. Associated
documents: Risk-Based End States at SRS
factsheet: Radioactive Pollution gets a Facelift.
English Version
, Russian Version | Combat Air Pollution with Bucket
Brigades factsheet. English Version
, Russian Version
|
|
May 20, 2004:
Consolidated Coal Company in Buchanan Co., VA is
seeking to nearly double its permitted VOC limits
just months after being deemed a "High
Priority Violator" for violating the current
VOC limits. VA DEQ will hold a June 1, 2004
public info. briefing and a July 1, 2004 public
hearing. Action Alert flyer
and more details.
|
|
April 26, 2004: Please write the
NC Rules Review Commission to ask them to oppose
NC Environmental Management Commission’s
exemption for Paper Mills from Hydrogen Sulfide
Air Emissions Limits. Action Alert and more details.
Letters needed as soon as possible. Comment Deadline has passed.
|
|
April 26, 2004: BREDL and Protect
All Children's Environment (PACE) Action Alert asking the NC Dept. of Agriculture to require
public notification of ALL aerial pesticides
spraying.
|
|
Mar. 08, 2004: BREDL comments to VA DEQ
regarding CPV Warren gas-fired power plant air permit, Warren County, VA.
|
|
Mar. 02, 2004: Posted notorized transcript of
comments from Feb. 12, 2004 People's Hearing
regarding International Paper-Riegelwood kraft
paper mill.
|
|
Mar. 01, 2004: BREDL comments to
NC DENR DAQ regarding International
Paper Riegelwood PSD permit - proposed boiler
upgrade.
|
|
Feb. 12, 2004: BREDL Press Release - GROUPS HOLD PEOPLE’S HEARING ON
INTERNATIONAL PAPER: Today in Lake Waccamaw the
BE SAFE North Carolina Campaign hosted a public
hearing on the air permits and new proposals for
International Paper at Riegelwood. Speakers took
aim at the recently issued Clean Air Act permit
and IP’s proposal to avoid meeting federal
maximum achievable control technology standards.
IP has proposed to substitute a computer-modeled
risk assessment for federally mandated
technological improvements.
|
|
Feb. 12, 2004:
People’s Hearing on International Paper
Riegelwood air pollution permit, risk assessment
and new innovative technology. Hearing will be
held Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004 at 7:00 PM in Lake
Waccamaw, NC. More Details: BREDL Action Alert | IP Fact Sheet | Hearing Flyer
|
|
Jan. 27, 2004: BREDL comments to
EPA regarding International Paper
Riegelwood air pollution permits.
|
|
Jan. 27, 2004:
People’s Hearing on International Paper
Riegelwood air pollution permit, risk assessment
and new innovative technology. Hearing will be
held Tuesday, January 27, 2004 at 7:00 PM in Lake
Waccamaw, NC. More Details: BREDL Action Alert | IP Fact Sheet | Hearing Flyer
|
|
Jan. 8, 2004: BREDL comments during Title V
permit hearing for Blue Ridge Paper
|
|
Public Hearing: VA
DEQ will hold a public hearing on Feb. 24, 2004
in Front Royal, VA on the proposed CPV Warren 580
Mw gas-fired power plant. This facility would be
located 5 miles from the Shenandoah National
Park, a very polluted Class I area. Action
Alert and more details.
|
|
2003
|
|
Dec. 15, 2003: BREDL additional
comments on NC DAQ rulemaking for Hydrogen
Sulfide limits.
|
|
Dec. 05, 2003: Earthjustice files
lawsuit challenging regulations published by the
EPA that will allow hazardous chemicals at toxic
waste sites to be pumped into the air without any
control measures.
Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of the
Sierra Club, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League and Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety.
|
|
Nov. 5, 2003: BREDL's Dr. Rick Weisler letter to NC
Environmental Management Commission Air Quality
Committee Chair Marion E. Deerhake regarding
acceptable ambient levels for Hydrogen Sulfide
|
|
ALERT: Public Comments Deadline - Dec. 15, 2003: NC EMC Public Hearing Nov. 5, 2003 in
Enka, NC regarding hydrogen sulfide regulations
and reductions. Action Alert and more details.
|
|
ALERT:
Particulate
matter standards under review. EPA Nov. 12 &
13, 2003 MEETING in Research Triangle Park, NC.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science
Advisory Board Clean Air Scientific Advisory
Committee (CASAC) Particulate Matter (PM) Review
Panel. Public comment period will probably happen
on Nov. 12. | Nov. 12, 2003: BREDL
comments on CASAC review of the air quality
criteria document for particulate matter.
|
|
Oct. 20, 2003: BREDL member group Protect All Children's
Environment (PACE) letter to NC Attorney General
requesting enforcement of the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and
for North Carolina to join the lawsuit filed by
10 other states and the US Virgin Islands who
have called on the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development to follow a federal law
governing pesticide use in public housing
projects across the country.
|
|
Oct. 20, 2003:
Today at press conferences in Asheville, High
Point and Durham, statewide and regional
organizations launched the BE SAFE North Carolina
campaign. Groups from across the state will
promote the “better-safe-than-sorry”
approach to protection of public health and the
environment. The mission of BE SAFE NC is to
protect children’s health and to safeguard
our air, water, and workplaces.
|
|
Oct. 20, 2003:
Factsheet: Hydrogen Sulfide -
The Human Health Effect of a Toxic Pollutant.
|
|
Sept 19, 2003: BREDL comments on Title V permit
for Stericycle, Inc, Haw River, Alamance County,
NC
|
|
Sept. 16, 2003: BREDL comments on Phase One North
American Regional Action Plan for Dioxins and
Furans, and Hexachlorobenzene.
|
|
Sept. 06, 2003: BREDL comments on Title V permit
for Weyerhaeuser Company, Elkin Plant, Surry
County, NC
|
|
Sept. 02, 2003: BREDL and WEAG Appeal to Virginia
State Air Pollution Control Board regarding VA
DEQ determination of exemption for W-L asphalt
plant.
|
|
Aug. 14, 2003: Lou Zeller's oral
remarks at the EPA hearing held at Research
Triangle Park regarding proposed changes to New
Source Review.
|
|
July 29, 2003: BREDL comments on TEC tire incinerator
in Henry Co., VA
|
|
July 25, 2003: BREDL and WEAG cite numerous
flaws with DEQ’s approval of Wythe County,
VA asphalt plant. Groups request DEQ to stop
relocation and re-open permitting process. Read Press
Release | July 25, 2003: BREDL
and WEAG letter to Virginia DEQ Director Robert
Burnley requesting determination of permit
exemptions. | More information
including BREDL/DEQ correspondence, background,
pictures.
|
|
July 12, 2003: BREDL Board of Directors passes
resolution requesting a ban on aerial pesticide
spraying in North Carolina.
|
|
June 30, 2003: EPA Region IV letter to Dr. Rick Weisler
stating that current laws are not enough to offer
"consistent and comprehensive environmental
protection strategy." The EPA letter writer
urges Dr. Weisler to continue his work to
document unexpected disease clusters and
contaminant associations near asphalt industry in
Salisbury, NC.
|
|
June 25, 2003: BREDL comments on reopened Title
V permit for Stericycle, Inc, Haw River, Alamance
County, NC
|
|
June 16, 2003: BREDL comments on the draft Title
V permit for SGL Carbon in Morganton,(Burke Co.),
NC
|
|
May 23, 2003: BREDL comments on
the proposed air permit for the Ferebee Asphalt
Corp. asphalt plant in Optimist Park in
Charlotte.
|
|
May 18, 2003: BREDL comments on the draft Title
V permit for Duke Energy's G.G. Allen power
station, Gaston Co., NC
|
|
May 13, 2003: BREDL
petitions EPA to object to Final Title V permit
for Savannah River Site.
|
|
Mar. 31, 2003: Lou
Zeller's oral remarks at the EPA hearing on
proposed changes to New Source Review
|
|
Mar. 31, 2003: BREDL comments on
the draft Title V permit for Georgia-Pacific
paper mill in Big Island, VA
|
|
Mar. 25, 2003: BREDL comments on
the draft Title V permit for Duke Energy's Belews
Creek coal-fired power plant in Stokes County,
NC.
|
|
March 04, 2003: Dr.
Rick Weisler letter to NC Environmental
Management Commission
Air Quality Committee Chair
Marion E. Deerhake regarding acceptable ambient
levels for Hydrogen Sulfide
|
|
Feb. 10, 2003: BREDL
letter to NC Environmental Management Commission
Air Quality Committee Chair Marion E. Deerhake
regarding acceptable ambient levels for Hydrogen
Sulfide
|
|
Feb. 5, 2003:
BREDL Slide Show presentation by Dr. Rick
Weisler: Childhood Brain
Cancers Near Asphalt Industry in Salisbury, North
Carolina
|
|
Feb. 3, 2003: BREDL and PRIDE
letter to EPA and VA DEQ requesting ozone
nonattainment status for Henry and Pittsylvania
Counties in Virginia
|
|
Jan. 29, 2003: Multi-group letter
to U.S. Secretary of Interior Norton expressing
concern over industry pressure to build a
gas-fired power plant in close proximity to
Shenandoah National Park
|
|
Jan. 27, 2003: Multi-group letter
to NC Governor Easley and Attorney General Cooper
requesting North Carolina to join 9 other states
in suing EPA to block weakening of the Clean Air
Act.
|
|
Jan. 06, 2003: BREDL files
Section 505 Petition with EPA regarding AEP
Clinch River (Russell, Co. VA) coal-fired power
plant Title V permit
|
|
2002
|
|
Dec. 13, 2002: BREDL comments to
VA SCC on application for gas-fired power plant
in Warren Co., VA, within 7km of Shenandoah Nat.
Park.
|
|
Dec. 06, 2002: BREDL additional comments, including
letter from Dr. Peter Rickards on the
unreliability of HEPA filters to control
radionuclide emissions, on the draft Title V
permit for Savannah River Site.
|
|
Nov. 22, 2002: BREDL and PACE Press Release - Aerial Pesticide regulators to dump
safety buffer zones! Free Pesticides Coming to
Your Child Soon.
|
|
Nov. 21, 2002: BREDL additional comments on the draft
Title V permit for the Savannah River Site. | |
|
Nov. 4, 2002: BREDL Comments on
Title V permit for CP & L Roxboro Steam
Electric Plant in Person Co., NC
|
|
Oct. 07, 2002: BREDL
comments on Proposed Rules for National Emission
Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Site
Remediation, 40 CFR 63, Subpart GGGGG
|
|
Sept. 24, 2002: BREDL Comments on
Title V permit for Weyerhaeuser in Kingsport, TN
|
|
Sept. 3, 2002: BREDL
comments before NC EMC on the proposed rule changes
under 15A NCAC 2D .0506, 2Q .0306, 2D .1109, and
2Q .0526.
(amendments to: Particulate
Emissions, Rules for asphalt plants, Public
participation rules, Volatile Organic Compound
Rules, Permitting Rules, 112j Case-by-Case MACT
Rules and others)
|
|
Aug. 20, 2002: BREDL
comments before NC EMC on the proposed rule changes
under 15A NCAC 2D .0506, 2Q .0306, 2D .1109, and
2Q .0526. (amendments to: Particulate
Emissions, Rules for asphalt plants, Public
participation rules, Volatile Organic Compound
Rules, Permitting Rules, 112j Case-by-Case MACT
Rules and others) Final comment deadline was September 3, 2002.
|
|
July 17, 2002: BREDL Comments on
Title V permit for AEP Clinch River coal-fired
power plant in Russell, Co. VA August 26, 2002: BREDL additional
comments from public hearing
|
|
July 11, 2002 in Clemmons, NC,
BREDL chapter Triad
Environmental Action joined groups across the
United States to protest Martha Stewart's use of
vinyl in her Everyday product line. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a major source of the
carcinogen dioxin.
|
|
July 9, 2002 - BREDL
comments on Virginia DEQ and SCC agreement on
power plant impacts
|
|
July 2, 2002 - BREDL and PRIDE
petition EPA to object to Solite Cascade, VA
Title V permit
|
|
April 25, 2002: BREDL Comments on Clean
Air Act Title V permit for Lafarge Building
Materials, Inc. near Harleyville, SC
|
|
March 12, 2002 and
April 11, 2002: BREDL
Comments on Georgia-Pacific Corporation - Holly
Hill, South Carolina Fiberboard Plant Clean Air
Act Title V permit,
pictures: Georgia-Pacific
Corporation-Holly Hill
|
|
March 19, 2002: BREDL and PRIDE comments on PSD
permit for 1100 Mw Henry County/Cogentrix
gas-fired power plant in Henry Co. Virginia. Update: Air permit has been withdrawn as of
August 1, 2003 according to Virginia DEQ website
|
|
March 8, 2002: The Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League
Bethel-Cullasaja community health survey report.
The Bethel-Cullasaja community is the site of an
asphalt plant permitted to produce 180 tons/hour
and 100,000 tons/year of paving asphalt.
|
|
March 8, 2002: The Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense released a study showing
the adverse impacts on property values and
quality of life around an asphalt plant in
Pineola, North Carolina.
|
|
Feb. 20, 2002 - BREDL
comments on Savannah River Site, Aiken SC Title V
permit
|
|
Jan. 22, 2002 - BREDL comments to NC EMC
regarding proposed DAQ Rule
Changes under 15 A NCAC 2D .1200 and 2Q .0700.
|
|
Jan. 17, 2002 BREDL
comments to EPA Region IV regarding New
Source Review rules under the Clean Air Act ,
BREDL
comments to EPA Region III regarding New
Source Review rules under the Clean Air Act ,
Read Jan.
17, 2002 Virginia Press Advisory
|
|
Jan. 15, 2002 - BREDL comments on
Stericycle, Inc, Haw River, Alamance County, NC
Title V permit
|
|
2001
|
|
Dec. 03, 2001: BREDL
comments on Trigen
Biopower – North Cove, McDowell
County Title V permit
|
|
Nov. 20, 2001:
Citizens meet to oppose Wedlake Plant. BREDL Press Release ; PVC Fact Sheet
|
|
Nov. 5, 2001 - BREDL
comments on Solite Corp. Cascade, Virginia Title
V permit
|
|
Oct. 25, 2001 - BREDL comments
on Title V permit for Southern States Chemical in
Wilmington, NC
|
|
Aug. 21, 2001: Today in testimony
before the US Environmental Protection Agency in
Arlington, Virginia, representatives of the Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League told federal
officials to close the loophole for fossil-fueled
electric power plants. The four-state citizens
group called on the EPA to reduce air pollutants
which reduce visibility in our national parks and
which cause thousands of deaths every year. Read North
Carolina Press Release and Four-state
(VA, NC, SC, & TN) Press Release , BREDL Comments on BART
Guidelines under Haze Regs , EPA BART Facts
|
|
BREDL held a
Bucket Brigade training workshop in
Winston-Salem, NC on Saturday, August 18, 2001.
Volunteers were trained on bucket operation and
how to organize community "bucket
brigades".
|
|
June 26, 2001 - Tri-County Paving, Inc. v.
Ashe County |
|
June 22, 2001 - Virginia DEQ response to BREDL's
comments on Glen Lyn power plant Acid Rain Permit
Amendment.
|
|
June 13, 2001 - The
Citizens Against the Asphalt Plant (CAAP) files a
lawsuit on Wednesday before an administrative law
judge seeking to force more controls on Tarheel
Paving Co.'s asphalt plant in Henderson County,
NC.
|
|
June 7, 2001 - BREDL's Report
to the Technical Advisory Committee of the
Western NC Regional Air Pollution Control Agency
|
|
April 19, 2001 - Comments on Glen Lyn
Power Plant Acid Rain Amendment
|
|
BREDL
Comments on DRAFT air permit for Tar Heel Paving
Asphalt Plant, Henderson, NC (March 12, 2001)
|
|
March 19, 2001 - Flyer on Glen Lyn, Va coal-fired
power plant proposed NOx increase. (Public
Hearing April 19) Flyer
|
|
March 5, 2001 - Washington (CNN) -- In a defeat
for utilities and industry groups, the U.S.
Supreme Court Monday let stand a federal rule
requiring a number of states to reduce interstate
drifting of air pollution, mainly from power
plant emissions. |
|
BREDL Comments on DRAFT air permit for APAC Tennessee Asphalt Plant, Murphy, NC (Jan. 22, 2001) BREDL comments on DRAFT air permit for Smith & Sons Paving Company, McDowell County. (Feb. 8, 2001) BREDL Comments at
Public Hearing on air permit for Maymead Asphalt
Plant in Boone, NC. (Feb. 19, 2001)
|
|
Feb. 27, 2001 - WASHINGTON (AP)
-- The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the way
the federal government sets clean-air standards,
rejecting industry arguments that officials must
balance compliance costs against the health
benefits of cleaner air. |
|
Feb 9, 2001 - Comments on Glen Lyn
Power Plant Acid Rain Amendment
|
|
Jan. 20, 2001 - APAC-Tennessee
Inc. proposed plant in Cherokee County, NC.
|
|
Newly posted Asphalt Plant Flyer Fact Sheets
|
|
Jan. 15, 2001 - Asphalt Plant
Campaign Report: This report gives an update
on BREDL's campaign to reduce toxic pollution
from asphalt plants in western North Carolina. It
includes information about six communities which
oppose existing or proposed asphalt plants. |
|
Jan. 12, 2001 - EPA is proposing
to amend its regional haze rule. 60 Day public
comment period to follow posting in the federal
register.
|
|
Jan. 11, 2001 - I-73 DEIS
(Roanoke, VA to NC border) fails to address
Roanoke's Air Quality. Read BREDL's
Air Quality Report on I-73
|
|
2000
|
|
Dec. 22, 2000 - The Justice Department on
behalf of the EPA has filed a lawsuit against
Duke Energy, charging that eight of the electric
utility's power plants illegally
released massive amounts of air pollutants for
years. |
|
Nov. 16, 2000 - The
Justice Department, the Environmental Protection
Agency and the State of New York has announced an
agreement in principle with Virginia Power that
requires the company to reduce harmful air
pollution from the company's eight coal-fired
power plants in Virginia and West Virginia,
perform $13.9 million in environmental projects,
and pay a $5.3 million civil fine. |
|
BREDL FACT SHEET -
Clean Air Act Title V Permits
|
|
Oct. 11, 2000 - Citizens
breathe easy with closure of medical waste
incinerator - Citing numerous problems,
Mecklenburg Co. Dept. of Environmental Protection
shuts down the BMWNC Inc. medical waste
incinerator in Matthews, NC.
|
|
Oct. 2000 - North Carolina needs
Guaranteed Air Pollution Reductions: Half
Measures Fall Short
|
|
BREDL
Sept. 12, 2000 letter to NC EMC regarding ozone
reductions for coal-fired power plants
|
|
Ozone mapping -
includes photo showing "plumes" that
are downwind high ozone levels created by the
nitrogen oxide emissions from NC coal-fired
electric plants. - September 2000
|
|
August 8, 2000 -
the North Carolina Division of Air Quality issued
a new air permit for the Rhodes Brothers asphalt
plant in Macon County.
|
|
Take Action:
Send a letter to Governor Hunt and North Carolina
state policy makers in support of the People's
Plan for Clean Air. DEADLINE
WAS SEPT 1, 2000. Read our Sample Letter
that was automatically emailed to Governor Hunt
with copies sent to Secretary Holman, Chairman
Moreau of EMC and Chairman Deerhake of EMC Air
Committee.
|
|
July 5, 2000 - BREDL's Draft
Comments On The NC Nitrogen Oxide Reduction Rule.
The NC Environmental Management Commission will
hold a series of public hearings on air pollution
in July.
|
|
Comments of Louis
Zeller to the NC EMC for July 17, 2000 Public
Hearing on NOx Reduction Rule
|
|
June 9, 2000 - Prisoners
Of Our Homes (POOH) holds a press briefing in
Charlotte, NC. POOH called for the shut
down of the BMWNC medical waste
incinerator. Photos
from press briefing.
|
|
May 18, 2000 - BREDL/NACAP
Press Release regarding air permit At a press
conference in Franklin, the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League and Neighbors
Against the Cullasaja Asphalt Plant released a
detailed analysis of the pollution which would be
allowed if the state approves a permit for the
Rhodes Brothers asphalt plant.
|
|
Action
Alert: Public Hearing on Rhodes Brothers
Asphalt Plant permit. May 30, 2000 at 6:30 PM at
Franklin High School in Franklin, NC.
|
|
April 29, 2000 - NC People's Hearing
on Dioxin held in Raleigh.
|
|
April 11, 2000 - BREDL's
comments on CP & L's H.F. Lee and Cape Fear
Title V power plant permits.
|
|
April 5, 2000 - BREDL's comments on Duke Energy's Riverbend and Dan River
Title V power plant permits.
|
|
Action
Alert - The NC Division of Air Quality has
announced the first Title V public hearing on two
Duke Power coal-fired power plants. The
hearing on the Dan River and Riverbend plants
will be on April 3, 2000 at 7 PM in Statesville.
|
|
March 24, 2000 - BREDL's comments
to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection regarding Ozone Transport
Reduction. Press
Advisory
|
|
March 16, 2000 - The Great Smoky Mountains
National Park registers its earliest bad ozone
day on March 8, 2000.
|
|
March 9, 2000 - Neighbors
Against the Cullasaja Asphalt Plant (NACAP)
reports an Asphalt Plant was stopped in Franklin
NC. The Environmental Management Commission
voted to deny the air quality permit to Rhodes
Brothers Paving Company in the floodplain of the
Cullasaja River (Macon County).
|
|
March 9, 2000 - A state environmental panel
voted to hold public hearings on proposed rules
for curbing emissions from power plants, despite
uncertainties resulting from a recent federal
court ruling on air quality regulations.
|
|
March 07, 2000 - BREDL
letter to NC DAQ regarding air permit upgrade for
Corning, Inc. in Cabarrus County. |
|
March 03, 2000 - Federal Appeals Court Upholds EPA Air
Pollution Ruling. 19
states including North Carolina, South Carolina,
Virginia, & Tennessee will have to curtail
smog-causing chemicals from power plants.
|
|
Action Alert -
Update: March 9, 2000 - A Public
Hearing was held regarding the Carl Rose and Sons Asphalt Plant near Elkin, NC. on March 9 at the Elkin
Elementary School. Comments Deadline was March 24, 2000. Thanks
for your calls and letters which led to the
public hearing.
|
|
Feb 14, 2000 - BREDL
letter regarding NC Title V Air Permit for
Steelcase, Inc. in Fletcher, NC
|