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Sunday, August 10, 2008
Environment - Air permit request raises concerns in Allen County
Dan Stockman of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has a major story today on a BFGoodrich air permit request. Some quotes:
An Allen County tire manufacturer may be allowed to increase its ozone-causing pollution by up to 40 tons per year.The lengthy story is accompanied by a link to the 85-page draft permit.But the decision by Indiana’s environmental regulators to let BFGoodrich in Woodburn use a new additive in its tire-making process is raising red flags for environmentalists. The concerns include:
• There is no requirement in Goodrich’s draft permit for new pollution controls to reduce the new emissions.
• It does not require any monitoring of the pollution to ensure it stays within the 40-ton limit.
• There will be no additional scrutiny before a permit is issued that a permit for more than 40 tons would require.
• The emission calculations are based on numbers supplied by Goodrich, but the analysis is not available for public review.
A 30-day public comment period on the proposed Indiana Department of Environmental Management permit ends Wednesday.
IDEM’s upcoming local decision comes about a year after its controversial decision to allow BP’s Whiting oil refinery to increase the amount of pollution released into Lake Michigan and a year and a half after Allen County returned to ozone attainment status, because its ozone levels had crept back into allowable levels.
Despite the new designation, the American Lung Association rated Allen County’s air quality a “D” this year, up from an “F” in 2007, based on its high levels of ozone.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 10, 2008 09:36 AM
Posted to Environment