Video of Biomass Air Quality Hearing, Valdosta, 27 April 2010

A video of a hearing about the biomass plant Wiregrass Power LLC proposes to build in Lowndes County just outside of Valdosta was held in Valdosta on 27 April 2010 by the Air Protection Branch (APD) of the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Eric Cornwell of APD explains location, process flow, and specific items covered by the permit (soot, SO₂, NOX, CO, VOC, HCL, etc., but not CO₂). He remarks that Wiregrass Power LLC is building a small plant with a "lower emission limit in order to avoid some of the red tape" by getting a minor permit instead of a major permit. The first half hour concludes with Bob Turner, the plant manager, presenting similar material, ending with:

"No new carbon is added to the atmosphere when burning woody byproducts."

I beg to differ on that: in the time it takes trees to grow back, there is indeed new carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere. More from Dr. William Sammons on that.

Back to the video of the hearing. Questions start at 00:29:44. Here are some time markers and very brief summaries of Q and A; see the video for the full questions and answers.

• 00:30:10 Dr. Brad Bergstrom, ecologist, VSU, speaking as a concerned citizen:
  Q: Fugitive emissions from diesel trucks?
  A: Not required for the permit.
• 00:32:11 Tom ?, concerned citizen:
  Q: Copy of environmental impact statement?
  A: No EIS is required for the permit. Offers a copy of the permit application instead.
• 00:35:40 Tom ?, concerned citizen:
  Q: Are other biomass plant permits online?
  Only one operating now is Multi-Trade Rabun Gap. Started January. Yellow Pine Clay County. Others.
• 00:37:05 Tom ?, concerned citizen:
  Q: Alternative site for Valdosta?
  No.
• 00:37:28 Dr. Gretchen Bielmyer, environmental toxicologist, VSU, speaking as a concerned citizen:
  Q: Will mercury emissions be continuously monitored?
  A: "There will not be continuous mercury monitoring."
• 00:42:35 Dr. Gretchen Bielmyer, environmental toxicologist, VSU, speaking as a concerned citizen:
  Q: Mercury criteria are being reevaluated to lower levels at federal level?
  A: Sure.
• 00:42:42 Dr. Gretchen Bielmyer, environmental toxicologist, VSU, speaking as a concerned citizen:
  Q: Will mercury criteria be continuously monitored?
  A: For large plants like Plant Scherer. For this plant, "There will not be continuous mercury monitoring."
• 00:44:15 Dr. Gretchen Bielmyer, environmental toxicologist, VSU, speaking as a concerned citizen:
  Q: Dioxins and furans output and likely cancer rate?
  A: "I don't have those in front of me."
• 00:45:56 Meredith Ellis, student and concerned citizen:
  Q: "Budgetarily speaking, are we really hurting that bad that we need to consider prostituting our land and our air to save a couple of bucks?"
  A: "We don't look and say what do we get out of it."
• 00:49:50 Meredith Ellis, student and concerned citizen:
  Q: "Am I supposed to trust that the EPA cares about me and my children, and that they have the same standard that I hold for air quality?"
  A: "That's a personal judgment call."
• 00:50:20 Presenters go over regulatory and permitting process.
• 00:50:58 Karen Noll, concerned citizen:
  Q: Dust emitted?
  A: Particulate matter, fly ash, soot, 99% collected in bag house.
• 00:52:38 Karen Noll, concerned citizen:
  Q: Dust on vehicles, plants, etc.?
  A: "Can't imagine." Complaints would be investigated.
• 00:54:34 Karen Noll, concerned citizen:
  Q: Sources of wood?
  A: "We cannot go out and cut down whole trees to burn" or we'd lose our tax credits." Thinnings, sawdust, residue, trimmings from the city.
• 00:55:49 Karen Noll, concerned citizen:
  Q: Plant would need very clean wood to get clean burn. How is this handled?
  A: If we burned treated wood we'd lose our tax credits.
• 00:57:40 John McCrae(?), concerned citizen:
  Q: Odor? We know when it's going to rain in this town because Clyattville blows here.
  A: Nope. Except for the wood pile.
• 00:59:07 John McCrae(?), concerned citizen:
  Q: How will wood ash be disposed of?
  A: Sell it for fertilizer; take it to the landfill.
• 01:00:16 John McCrae(?), concerned citizen:
  Q: Who will you sell the power to?
  A: Talking to some EMCs. Why not Georgia Power? They're getting ready to shut down 1,000 megawatts of coal plants, but I think they're going to buy a natural gas plant.
• 01:03:40 Jasmine Brown, student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: If sewage sludge is only a minor component of the fuel, why take the risk of pollution?
  A: Sample results from waste water treatment plant; we can run the math to see emissions will comply with the regulations.
• 01:05:06 Natasha Fast, student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: Considering Hamilton Co., Florida plant, regional impact study?
  A: Narrow, small radius of influence: half a mile or so. "We're not going to do a regional impact study."
• 01:07:26 Natasha Fast, student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: How many houses are there?
  A: I don't know.
• 01:07:31 Natasha Fast, student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: How is it we can smell the rotten egg smell of Clyattville?
  A: You can smell it a mile, two miles away, but there will be some point where you can't.
• 01:08:40 Natasha Fast, student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: What will be used in the coolant tower?
  A: "I don't know off the top of my head."
• 01:09:55 Meredith Lune(?), student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: How will this affect nearby schools and neighborhoods?
  A: Regulatory values for lifetime exposure to be, "for lack of a better word, safe".
• 01:12:07 Meredith Lune(?), student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: So you're just taking a guess based on plants national. And what about asthma?
  A: It's not a guess, it's based on numbers gathered. I'm not a toxicologist, so I don't know how they did it. "Rabbit testing, human testing, whatever."
• 01:13:13 Meredith Lune(?), student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: Rabbit testing, human testing: actual human testing?
  A: "I'm not a toxicologist, and I'm not sure."
• 01:13:36 (?), concerned citizen:
  Q: Trucks?
  A: Around 50 a day.
• 01:14:19 Erin Hurley, student, VSU, and concerned citizen:
  Q: Fine particulate matter, human health, can you assure the breathing public?
  A: As far as the modeling, it's below the levels.
• 01:15:49 ?:
  Q: If this is rough draft, will there be further comment?
  A: Comments close next Tuesday. "We don't look at this as a popularity contest."
• 01:17:05 ?:
  Q: If we do have issues, what do we as citizens have as next steps?
  A: Video ends.

The permit has since been approved, but that's not the end of the story.

Video by Erin Hurley of Students Against Violating the Environment (SAVE). Posted by John S. Quarterman of LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq