Ohio Lake Erie Commission : Public Hearing to Discuss Emerald BioEnergy Draft Permit Renewal

11/23/20
PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER, [phone]
MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Chenault
CITIZEN CONTACT: Jessica Langdon

Ohio EPA will hold a virtual hearing for a draft permit renewal to update the permit requirements for Emerald BioEnergy.

During the hearing, which will begin at 6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, citizens can submit comments on the record regarding the draft permit renewal. Participants must pre-register for the hearing online. The Agency will only accept questions related to the draft permit renewal at this time.

The draft permit would update biosolids storage and land application requirements, and include bridge conditions as Emerald BioEnergy transitions away from biosolids. The company no longer accepts sewage sludge or biosolids as feedstocks for the anaerobic digester. The draft permit would include requirements and conditions that were not in the original permit.

Some of the changes to the draft permit would include monitoring to evaluate performance of the anaerobic digester, monthly reporting feedstock types and amounts received, reporting ground water monitoring, reporting freeboard for each storage pond on a monthly basis, submitting an odor mitigation plan for acceptance by Ohio EPA, and reporting issues related to environmental regulations that are outside of normal operations.

Written comments may be submitted during the virtual hearing, or emailed to [e-mail]. All comments received at the virtual hearing or via email by close of business Dec. 17 will be considered by Ohio EPA prior to final action on this proposal. All emailed comments should include '4IN00204' in the subject line.

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The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.