The EPA draft permits granted to Duke Energy, which also begin two 30-day public comment periods, relate to air and wastewater concerns, and are subject to further review, officials said.

Friday, October 05, 2001

The EPA draft permits granted to Duke Energy, which also begin two 30-day public comment periods, relate to air and wastewater concerns, and are subject to further review, officials said.

Duke cannot begin construction until the final air permit is issued, but some work like land clearing is allowed, said Anne Chamberlin of the Portsmouth Local Air Agency, which oversees the air permit. A public notice scheduled for publication by the Ohio EPA, lists details of the draft permits.

"This draft permit proposes to allow the installation of four new combustion turbines for power generation at a new facility in Hanging Rock ," the public notice states.

The notice lists information about pollutants, as well as the allowable "increment" of pollutants plants are allowed to discharge.

Duke’s proposed pollutants are localized and "this facility has demonstrated that the impact from the new sources is less than the available increment," the notice states.

Duke has also met requirements for wastewater disposal, as listed in the EPA’s Division of Surface Water draft permit-to-install a treatment works/disposal system – filed in a related notice Thursday.

That draft permit states that discharge would "result in degradation" of the Ohio River.

"After considering the technical, economic and social aspects of this project, the Director of the Ohio EPA has decided to make the preliminary determination to allow this degradation," the notice states.

The draft permit also states that the chemical-specific water quality standards to protect aquatic life and human health as set forth in state administrative codes will not be exceeded.

Before each permit – air and wastewater – is made final, the EPA will accept comments for 30 days from Thursday. Public hearings may also be requested. The permit number is PTI 07-00503.

Comments for the air permit can be sent to: Anne Chamberlin, Portsmouth Local Air Agency, 740 Second St., Portsmouth, Ohio, 45662.

For more information, call the agency at 740-353-5156.

Comments for the wastewater permit should be addressed to both: Ohio EPA, Division of Surface Water, Permits Processing Unit, 122 South Front St., P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio, 43216; and Ohio EPA, Southeast District Office, 2195 Front St., Logan, Ohio, 43138.