Document ba2Ep8p9Qgg2xQa8bZGve8Yo3

HILL AND KNOWLTON, Inc. TOE HOUSTON POST May 2, 1978 - Page 1 P ^P^iitttioi^'cdritroi system `weakness1? *! i H^r "^r-v -w -B- *"V /-h /V/^1 years"a. a: I " " . Air boaTd records show the' leading -1t vE-x.xJon s case, the'aai-rWboWardITis Vho1ldJT- ByHAROU) SCARLETT Post Environment Writer :1 slowpoke in getting an operating permit .I11? UP action on operating permits for a A is currently the Southland Paper Mill major refinery expansion until it deter- 1 / plant on Sheldon Road in east Harris >ndnes the source of high'sulfur dioxide ` County. - !... levels detected near the refinery. Six industries in the Houston area Southland applied for an operating \ in the Gulf Chemical case, Tower re have been operating new plant facilities permit for a plant expansion oh June. 2, Called, the air board early in 1977 de- for periods ranging up to nearly three 1975. cided to deny the company'an operating years without operating permits from the The other problem plants and their permit because of heavy pollution. The Texas Air Control Board. . original permit application dates: * air board sought, but was denied, a court Air board officials said they are with Air Products A rhofriWlg w., Feb. order shutting the plant down. holding fbe permits because the new fa 19, 1976; Charter International Oil Co., Later, the court apprpved an agreed cilities have had trouble achieving their Aug. 31, 1977; Exxon's Baytown refinery,-injunction against plant violations of air promised performance in controlling air from Feb. 28, 1977, to July 5, 1977, for board rules and, Tower said, Gulf Cheml- pollution. 'v various permits; Gulf Chemical and cal recently submitted a revised operat- . Once a new industrial facility starts running, it is required by the Texas Metallurgical Co..at Fheeport, July 8, pemdt application. : - dean Air Act to apply for an operating permit within 60 days., ' i ` . But the law imposes jap time limit on 1975,and Amoco Texas Refining Co. in The air board's regional supervisor! Texas City, Oct. 20,1975' : Lloyd Stewart, said some new facilities , Air board officials said these compa-get caught in a pollution problem beyond the air board for issuing -- or denying--^ nies, "in most cases, were having prob- their control, as when control equipment an operating permit It merely says the. lems achieving the pollution limits they falls to perform as advertised.' - board shall issue .the permit in a 53s?;;^-'ta' WSL construction` "But basically, I think there should be "reasonable time.^'C;.;':: v . ' ^ permits for their new fccffltte. ? . ,a ^ft pipits, The county's pollution control direc These permit limits for new plants, it ^Stewart said. "I think a company facing tor, Allison R. Peirce, believes this is a was pointed hut, are more stringent than a deadline would get more^Ccomplisheq "toTible weakness" in the state permit overall state'pollution; standards for in a shorter period." ting system to control air pollution. older plants. ?. ; A new plaint can have flaws in de-* jn Southland's case, Tower said, the sign, or maybe Its pollution control orjgjnjj permit limits on hydrogen sul- equipment doesn't perform as the manu- fide pollutioh were revised and relaxed facturer promised," Peirce said. ` But twice because the company's original there should come a time when a plant emission estimates were "unreasonably. has to shut down if it can't meet the low. l`_ standards." . A Southland spokesman, David White, : - The city's air.p^utbn chieL KenMth ' L said the paper mill is now meeting its ; W. MacKenzie Jr.; : agreed there shcmld hydrogen sulfide limits,, and the air i be a time limit on issuing operating beard is running tests tp confirm this.. (permits. .^ :: . \V* The speritetman said the long delay re "When the conditions for operation are sulted "from rapidly changing control not finalized/' MacKenzie said, "it technology and air. board testing creates a real enforcement problem for procedures.'":.',' ns." . - ; ;f i . However, Tower said Southland's ! Air beard regional officials here point- - lengthy compliance time may have been - ed out the few slow-motion permit cases f excessive, and "enforcement action" < <;are not typical of the hundreds of permit l against the company is a possibility. ^applications they handle. Operating perr Southland at one point was emitting ' ! mits.are normally, issued in about four JTOO parts per million of^hydrogen sulfide, J ^months, they said. |or about 100 times the permitted amount' f : "If there were hazardous ,,pollutants in-1. ffrom its main stack. Tower said. :. ! volved,': permits engineer Roger Tower ; ,-He said air board computer modeling (added, "we wouldn't let an operating , j indicated that, at this emission leveC the L Pnnit drag on indefinitely." ^ rotten-egg odor from the plant would be iwS) 0o0 o h* 1 detectable 25 or 30 miles away,. | y BFG17279