Latest news with #NationalPollutantDischargeEliminationSystem
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More than 150 acres timbered at King Coal site
bluefield — A massive timbering project at the site of the King Coal Highway project in Bluefield has concluded. Approximately 150 acres of timber was cut to make way for the next phase of the new interstate project in Mercer County, according to Rusty Marks with the public relations office for the West Virginia Department of Transportation. While much of that timbering wasn't visible to motorists traveling along the new four-lane corridor, the timbered trees are visible from the distance near the 'road closed' sign where the King Coal Highway currently connects with the existing Airport Road. That's where the next section of the interstate corridor will begin. The new $58 million contract will take the King Coal Highway another 2.5 miles from Airport Road to Littlesburg Road, near Route 20 and the Bluewell community. However, earth-moving work on that project can't begin until two permits are received by the DOH, according to Mark. Those permits may not be received until late summer. 'The contractor, Kanawha Stone, is securing a 404 permit as well as an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit),' Marks said in an email response to questions by the Daily Telegraph. 'If these permits are obtained prior to August, then construction work can resume. August is simply the date in which these permits are assumed to be in place so that work can begin.' A 404 permit falls under the Clean Waters Act and regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. A groundbreaking ceremony on the Littlesburg Road section of the King Coal Highway was held last November, but no actual work on the highway project was completed at that time due to the pending arrival of winter. A third Mercer County contract is still in the planning stages. Once it is approved, that project will extend the King Coal Highway another five miles from the Littlesburg Road area toward the Montcalm community. The Littlesburg Road to Montcalm section of the King Coal Highway is still under environmental review. A contract award date for that stretch of the roadway has not yet been announced. The King Coal Highway is West Virginia's local corridor of the future Interstate 73/74/75 routing. In West Virginia, the King Coal Highway will ultimately extend 95 miles through Mercer, McDowell, Mingo, Wyoming and Wayne counties along or near currently existing U.S. 52 from U.S. 119 near Williamson to Interstate 77 in Bluefield. In the bigger picture, the final Interstate 73/74/75 routing will extend from Detroit, Michigan to Myrtle Beach, S.C, opening up a large swath of Southern West Virginia to interstate access. According to the National I-73/74/75 Corridor Association, the project will bring growth along the interstate within six states: Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Sections of the interstate corridor are already open in other states, including North Carolina and South Carolina. Contact Charles Owens at cowens@
Chicago Tribune
15-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
NWI environment advocates worry about BP permit application
Local community and environmental groups are worried about a proposed water pollution control permit for the BP Whiting refinery. Permit comments filed by the Environmental Law and Policy Center and Environmental Integrity Project say the permit will allow the facility to dump 'unhealthy levels of pollutants,' including mercury, into Lake Michigan, according to a news release. In a statement to the Post-Tribune, a spokesman for BP said a draft of the permit is available for public comment, but it has yet to be issued. The corporation's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit is subject to renewal every five years. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management held an April 22 public hearing as part of the renewal process, according to BP. '(BP) is committed to safe and compliant operations at the Whiting Refinery and across our global operations,' the company's statement said. 'We will continue working every day to keep this commitment and to ensure the refinery remains an important part of the Northwest Indiana economy for years to come.' Activists are asking IDEM to revise a draft permit for the plant to include stronger pollution limits for mercury, PFAs and other toxins, including arsenic, benzene and lead, according to the news release. Mercury is harmful to people of all ages, according to the news release, and it can cause brain damage to infants and poisons fish. PFAs are dangerous in very small 'parts per trillion' amounts and don't easily break down in the environment. 'The permit demonstrates BP's and the state of Indiana's disregard for the health of the people of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area,' Kerri Gefeke, associate attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said in the news release. 'It's particularly egregious for the state to allow BP to discharge elevated levels of mercury, unknown amounts of 'forever chemicals' like PFAs, and numerous other chemicals into Lake Michigan mere feet from the beaches where people swim and fish, and a short distance from where the City of Hammond withdraws its drinking water.' Meg Parish, senior attorney at the Environmental Integrity Project, agreed with Gefeke, saying the state of Indiana shouldn't allow the permit. Various organizations sent a letter to IDEM asking the department to not renew the permit at the Whiting refinery. Carolyn McCrady, member of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, said IDEM works for people and asked the agency to do a 'real analysis' before allowing the permit. Lisa Vallee, organizing director for Just Transition Northwest Indiana and a Whiting resident, said she was dumbfounded by the permit renewal application. The new permit contains more lax regulations, neglects to address more than 20 toxic chemicals and concerns about forever chemicals, Vallee said in a statement. 'We are not fools,' Vallee said. 'We know because we live here; every day, we smell it, see it and become ill. We will never stop fighting for the clean water, air and land we deserve.'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KDHE issues WPC permit for ILS facility
Apr. 30—TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Monday that it has issued a permit allowing Innovative Livestock Services LLC to proceed with its 88,000-head feed yard containment facility to be located in Pawnee County. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit No. KS03000010 allows ILS to proceed with its plans to construct the facility in Section 23 and SE quarter of Section 14, Township 23 South, Range 16 West. The permit lists terms and conditions for the construction of the facility's waste management system as designed and reviewed for approval by KDHE. ILS CEO Bronson Smith issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon upon receiving the final Kansas Water Pollution Control Permit from KDHE: "We are extremely proud to receive the final KDHE permit for ILS Feeders, LLC. Our team has put a tremendous amount of work into the permit application," Smith said. "We sought assistance from engineers, environmental consultants, feed yard construction professionals and other partners to ensure our permit application and design plan comply with all applicable statutes, regulations and permitting requirements. With the final permit in hand, we are excited now to be able to begin construction of ILS Feeders." Permit issued The announcement was confirmed Tuesday by Jill Bronaugh, KDHE communications director. "On April 28, KDHE issued a permit to the ILS feedlot near Larned for operation of a beef feedlot," Bronaugh noted in answer to an e-mail from the Great Bend Tribune. "After hearing the community's concerns, KDHE closely evaluated the permit to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. The permit, as issued, meets all requirements, and adds a facility-specific requirement of seepage rates in retention ponds that are more stringent than the regulatory requirement as an additional protection of groundwater. In addition, KDHE will require regular groundwater monitoring as an additional condition of the permit, with agreement from ILS." The announcement, in a letter from KDHE dated April 28, Casey Guccione, section chief of KDHE's Livestock Waste Management division of the Department's Bureau of Environmental Field Services, provided KDHE's response to concerns raised at a two-part hearing hosted by KDHE that took place March 25 at the Larned Community Center. Guccione presided over the first part of the hearing in which the public provided oral and written testimony regarding the facility's proposed waste management system and water pollution control issues, along with other concerns. In the letter, KDHE noted that 58 individuals provided comments either orally or in writing. At the hearing, 12 individuals provided oral testimony and 47 submitted written statements, with the hearing signifying the close of the public comment period as provided by KDHE. After its evaluation, KDHE determined that both the permit application and newly-revised draft permit were complete and "address the requirements necessary for the issuance of a water pollution control permit." KDHE officials acknowledged Tuesday that ILS had been notified by both the letter and issuance of the permit itself, noting that the facility cannot be populated until construction of the water management system is complete. According to the permit's standard conditions, "the permittee shall not stock a new facility or the expanded portion of an existing facility, nor place in use any animal waste management system until after the construction or expansion of the facility, including the animal waste management system, is completed, the Department has reviewed and approved any requested certifications, and the new or modified permit is issued or re-issued by the Department." The permit also provides that any as-built plans detailing any deviations from the approved plans and specifications must be provided to the Department within 30 days of construction completion. Seepage tests and analysis must be completed and results submitted to the Department, with notification within two working days prior to conducting the tests to allow the Department to witness the testing procedure. Statutory compliance indicates the seepage rate required has been upgraded from 1/10th of an inch to 1/40th of an inch per day, to be confirmed by post-construction testing. Issues and KDHE response The letter also contained issues raised at the hearing organized by category, as well as KDHE's response. Issues raised within the purview of the Department received detailed responses, while issues not within the statutory or regulatory requirements of KDHE were acknowledged as not being within the Department's purview. Issues raised receiving a detailed response from KDHE included: —Concerns that the proposed waste storage pool is inadequately designed and must require rubber liners in ponds. "The proposed liner material is suitable for construction a 12-inch compacted soil liner for each WSP. Rubber liners are not typically recommended for waste retention structures due to chemical incompatibility with animal waste." —Concerns of insufficient investigation of static water level. "Information was verified by the Department using available data from water well completion records database and the Kansas Geological Survey database. The 10-foot separation distance requirement has been thoroughly evaluated, and each proposed WSP meets the requirement." —Concerns that due to the permeability of Pawnee County soils, wastewater collection channels must have rubber liners. "The purpose of collection channels is to direct runoff to the designated lined WSP. There are no statutes, regulations or design standards that require collection channels to have a liner." —Concerns about who will monitor the groundwater. "The final permit will include a Schedule of Compliance which requires the submission of a groundwater monitoring plan within three months of issuance of the permit. A minimum of five monitoring wells will be required, one upgradient of the facility and four downgradient." —Concerns about wastewater disposal. "Separation distances to nearby surface waters have been evaluated and the proposed facility complies with all relevant requirements. The Department conducts routine and spot inspections of confined feeding facilities. For effective enforcement, the Department should be notified immediately upon observing any activities, evidence of mortality or waste handling concerns." —Concerns that regulations were changed or amended at the request of the facility to allow the permit to be issued. "No statutes, regulations or policies were created or amended at the request of the facility to facilitate a review of the permit application and proposed plans." Issues deemed not within the purview of the Department included: —Concerns about animal pharmaceuticals in the groundwater; concerns that the feed yard would add stress to a water system already burdened by drought and overuse; concerns about animal welfare; concerns about air quality including pollutants, allergens and odor; concerns about why the facility was being built in Pawnee County; concerns about property values; concerns about disruption and road damage from increased traffic; concerns about decreasing population in the City of Larned and Pawnee County; and concerns about environmental and economic costs greater than the job creation and potential tax income. As a final note, KDHE's letter noted that after determining the permit application meets the statutory and regulatory requirements, the KDHE does not have a legal basis to deny a permit application in which all requirements for a Kansas Water Pollution Control Permit are met and the permit has hereby been issued.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Shapiro joins Hershey Company to open Reese Chocolate processing facility
Apr. 21—WILKES-BARRE — Gov. Josh Shapiro this week joined Michele Buck, President and CEO of The Hershey Company, along with elected leaders, to open the new state-of-the-art Reese Chocolate Processing facility — Hershey's first fully-integrated digital manufacturing plant and the first new manufacturing facility built at its headquarters in Dauphin County in over three decades. The governor highlighted how this expansion, supported by his administration's permitting reforms and economic development strategy, is a major win for Pennsylvania's workforce, communities and economy. "From day one, my administration has been laser-focused on getting stuff done for Pennsylvanians — building an economy that works for everyone, supporting job growth, and making it easier to do business here," Shapiro said. "The new Reese plant is a shining example of what's possible when government moves at the speed of business. Hershey is an iconic Pennsylvania company, and they chose to expand their footprint right here at home — in the sweetest place on Earth. By working together, we are building a business-friendly climate that makes it easier for Pennsylvania-made brands and business to expand, grow, and thrive in our Commonwealth. Hershey's continued investment in Central Pennsylvania shows the world that the Commonwealth is open for business and ready to lead." The new 250,000-square-foot chocolate processing facility sits on a 55-acre site — large enough to hold five NFL fields — between the Hershey Technical Center and the existing Reese's plant, located at 1000 Reese Ave. It will produce the chocolate used in a variety of beloved brands including Reese's, KitKat, Symphony and Special Dark. The facility is part of Hershey's broader $1 billion investment strategy, which includes the addition of 13 new production lines and upgrades to 11 existing lines across North American facilities. It will support more than 125 new jobs and build on Hershey's long-standing legacy as a major employer in Pennsylvania, where the company already supports over 6,000 jobs. The Shapiro administration also played a critical role in the project's success by helping Hershey secure key permits — including the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit — enabling the timely construction and operation of the plant, the governor said. Since he took office, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has improved review time-frames for this permit type by 15%, cutting the average approval process by eight days, Shapiro's office said. Shapiro's proposed 2025-26 budget further focuses on implementing Pennsylvania's 10-year Economic Development Strategy to make the Commonwealth a leader in job creation, innovation and economic development, his office said. DCED celebrates Bayer's growth Brent Vernon, Department of Community and Economic Development's (DCED) senior managing director of BusinessPA this week highlighted the Commonwealth's support of Pennsylvania's life sciences industry and helped cut the ribbon on the 70,000-square-foot expansion of the Bayer Consumer Health Manufacturing Operation in Lebanon County. The multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company invested $44 million to expand its existing operation in Myerstown to increase production and packaging capabilities for its over-the-counter (OTC) products. The expansion includes room for eight new packaging lines that will streamline and modernize Bayer's operations. "The Shapiro administration is committed to implementing the Governor's Economic Development Strategy, which identifies life sciences as one of the key industries to focus on and ensure the long-term success of Pennsylvania," Vernon said. "We're thrilled to see Bayer double down on its commitment to the Commonwealth, signaling to the world that Pennsylvania is open for business and has the talent and resources necessary to support critical, life-saving work." Headquartered in Germany, Bayer touches both life sciences and agriculture — important industries that are included in Pennsylvania's 10-year Economic Development Strategy. "Our trusted brands have been helping people live healthier lives for generations. The Myerstown annex will enable us to bring science-backed products to market with more speed and reliability than ever before," said Dave Tomasi, president of Bayer's consumer health division in North America. "The expanded facility will further strengthen our commitment to providing safe, effective and high-quality self-care solutions that our consumers and customers can depend on." Pa. high court recognizes Autism Acceptance Month In a demonstration of its ongoing efforts to create a more understanding and accommodating court system, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court formally recognized April as Autism Acceptance Month with the issuance of an official citation. The citation emphasizes the importance of creating inclusive environments, supporting equal opportunities and treating all individuals with dignity and respect. It celebrates the contributions of advocates and self-advocates and reaffirms the Court's commitment to awareness and acceptance within public service and the legal system. "Autism Acceptance Month is a powerful reminder that our justice system must serve every Pennsylvanian with dignity, fairness and compassion," said Chief Justice Debra Todd. "We are proud to support efforts that promote awareness, education and inclusivity, and to support the autism community." The recognition builds upon the work of Justice Kevin Dougherty, who has spearheaded the Autism in the Courts initiative since 2019. The program has focused on identifying barriers faced by individuals with autism within the legal system, improving training for court personnel and promoting best practices for communication and accessibility. "This citation is not just symbolic — it's a statement of our values," said Justice Dougherty. "Through the Autism in the Courts initiative, we've listened to families, professionals and individuals with autism to understand how we can better serve them. We are committed to building a judiciary where every person is seen, heard and supported." The Court's initiative has led to collaboration with stakeholders statewide, the development of educational resources for judges and court staff, and efforts to encourage greater public understanding of neurodiversity within the justice system. Pa. moms support Shapiro's proposal Shapiro's 2025-26 budget proposal continues to invest in the health of mothers and babies, and directs the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) to work with health providers to implement universal postpartum screenings for moms, and ensure doctors and nurses can identify signs of pregnancy-related depression more quickly, speeding up referrals to mental health professionals. Postpartum depression affects one in eight mothers across the country. It not only impacts the well-being of Pennsylvania mothers, but also profoundly influences their families and communities. Since taking office, Shapiro has charged his administration with finding ways to improve the health of mothers and babies. The Administration has prioritized using data and recommendations from the Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee, feedback from a statewide survey and regional listening sessions to develop a multi-agency Maternal Health Strategic Plan. Mothers have voiced their support for Shapiro's efforts to provide universal postpartum depression screenings. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pearl City tow company fined for dumping waste into Waiawa Stream
COURTESY GOOGLE MAPS The location of Waiawa Stream as seen on Google Maps. COURTESY GOOGLE MAPS The location of Waiawa Stream as seen on Google Maps. The Hawaii Department of Health has fined a Pearl City towing company and property owner $55, 000 for releasing debris into Waiawa Stream in violation of water pollution laws. The was issued to both ABC Towing & Parts, LLC and property owner JH Hawaii Property, LLC, which owns the 2.6-acre industrial property at 794 H Lehua Ave., in Pearl City. DOH says inspectors visited the facility in October due to a public complaint of trash and debris dumped into Waiawa Stream. Inspectors learned then that the facility had changed ownership and that the new owners did not have the proper National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Inspectors also determined the facility discharged metals, tires, sediment, and other materials into Waiawa Stream, which it ordered the company to immediately remove. In follow-up inspections in January, DOH said industrial activities continued without required permits or best management practices and 'poor liquid waste management.' Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. In addition to the fine, DOH is requiring the company to apply for a proper NPDES permit. 'Industrial facilities subject to regulation under the NPDES program are required to have permit coverage prior to initiating discharges, ' said DOH in a news release. 'Failure to do so, creates an unfair advantage over other industrial facilities that dedicate resources toward environmental protection. Property owners that allow facilities to operate on their properties are liable for their tenants and therefore must ensure appropriate permits are obtained.' Failure to comply, DOH said, may subject violators to penalties of up to $60, 000 per day, per violation. 4 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? .
