PA Department of Environmental Protection admits that air pollution permits not health-based
Channel: Energy Justice Network
Date: 2020-12-26

Aug 28, 2007 public hearing on BioNol's proposed gas-powered ethanol biorefinery in Clearfield, Pennsylvania.  Mike Ewall with Energy Justice Network questions the PA Department of Environmental Protection about why residents are being told that the proposed air pollution permit means that the facility would be healthy and safe for the community, while permit limits are six times different at a same-sized second ethanol biorefinery proposed eight miles away in Curwensville (but powered by burning waste coal).  The DEP engineer admits that standards are technology-based, not health-based, and that they do not look at the cumulative impact of permitting these two facilities and a new waste coal burning power plant in the same county around the same time, even while they point their finger at power plants in Ohio, claiming that pollution blowing into Pennsylvania is an issue.

“The quick answer is that our evaluation is based on technology standards, not health standards… The underlying concept around the country is technology based.  What is says essentially is that as older plants and older sources fall apart and become useless and are replaced, they need to be replaced with things that are cleaner. …We don’t make evaluations of permits based on health standards in a direct fashion.  …For some of the large, very large permits like that one [a waste coal burning power plant], there are direct analysis of health issues.  In this case, there is none. Typically, for smaller cases like this one, there isn’t any.  …Are we looking at the cumulative impacts [of multiple large pollution sources] … the answer is ‘no.’”