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BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE
332 Shady Grove Church Road ~
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27107 ~ Phone
(336) 769-0955 ~ Email:
davidmickey@bellsouth.net
PRESS
RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 22, 2009
Contact:
David Mickey 336-624-2412 (cell)
Sam Tesh 336-366-7905
Deborah Kornegay 919-658-6321
Fibrowatt Flunks
Major Tests In Minnesota
League Challenges North Carolina Regulators and Calls for
Hearings
Today in letters mailed to state officials the
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League challenged North Carolina’s
environmental and utilities regulators to consider major permit
violations at a poultry litter incinerator in Minnesota before
allowing similar projects to proceed. The plant’s operator,
Fibrowatt LLC, wants to build three more incinerators in North
Carolina to burn poultry waste. A settlement agreement between
Fibrowatt and the state of Minnesota was released to the League
December 17.
A review of the 31-page settlement agreement found numerous
reporting deadlines that were missed, in many cases for several
months. More alarming to the League were the stack violations.
Fibrominn exceeded limits of particulate matter (soot), nitrogen
oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon monoxide (CO).
The League and its chapters where the plants would be built had
vigorously urged Minnesota officials to release information about
the violations after learning of them last year. The Minnesota
Attorney General’s office refused to make any details public
until after a settlement agreement was signed. Negotiations with
Fibrowatt went on for fourteen months. The plant, Fibrominn,
continues to operate.
“The list of violations in this settlement reveals a pattern
of contempt for the rules and an inability to meet even the most
basic environmental standards,” said David Mickey, the
League’s Zero Waste and Safe Energy Coordinator. “We
would hope that no company in North Carolina that misses permit
deadlines for months, violates its emissions limits and even
fails to monitor the plant’s emissions could still continue
to operate,” he added.
The violations included:
• Late emissions testing for hydrogen chloride,
PM10, and mercury;
• Missing reports for performance testing,
monitoring downtime, testing plans, deviations, and
compliance certifications;
• Excess emissions for total particulate matter,
nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
The final settlement imposed a $65,000 fine on
the company plus a requirement to spend at least $80,000 to
install additional monitoring equipment. Following more emissions
modeling and emissions testing, major amendments to the air
quality permit will be implemented in 2010 in an effort to better
regulate the Fibrominn plant.
Sam Tesh, who chairs the Citizens’ Alliance for a Clean,
Healthy Economy (CACHE) in Surry County expressed his concerns
about Fibrowatt. "The Surry County Commissioners had a
report from Fibrominn about the violations as early as September
of 2009. When questioned by concerned citizens about the report,
they said they had read it and there was nothing to worry
about--it was simply a matter of paperwork not being done on
time. The settlement shows that there was more than late
paperwork involved,” he said.
In Duplin County, Citizens for a Safe Environment Co-Chair
Deborah Kornegay reacted to the settlement with an appeal to
county commissioners and state legislators. "I visited the
Fibrominn plant in 2008, and I'm very concerned about the health
and environmental impact of such a plant on North Carolina,
especially now that the list of violations in Minnesota has been
released. It's time for Sampson, Surry, and Montgomery County
Commissioners, as well as state legislators, to listen intently
to the legitimate concerns of their constituencies," she
said. Citizens for a Safe Environment members live close to the
proposed site of a Fibrowatt incinerator near the Sampson/Duplin
county line.
David Mickey added, “North Carolina’s renewable energy
statute requires companies, like Fibrowatt, to use Best Available
Control Technology (BACT) to reduce emissions. In this case, the
only example the state has to determine what’s “Best”
is Fibrominn because it is the only operating plant in the United
States. As of now, that permit is still being amended and
Fibrowatt is still testing.
“Their record in Minnesota raises serious unanswered
questions about what is best for North Carolina. We have
previously asked the state to hold public hearings in the
targeted communities to get input on what constitutes Best
Availability Control Technology in North Carolina. We repeat that
request today,” he concluded.
The settlement agreement is posted on the League’s website
at www.bredl.org/pdf2/FibrominnExecutedSTIP12-16-09.pdf
-end-
More info: Fibrowatt | Dec. 21, 2009 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Press Release |
Fibrominn Violations FAQ
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