* * * * PUBLIC NOTICE * * * *

Mt. Poso Cogeneration Company

ANNOUNCEMENT OF PROPOSED PERMIT AND REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

ON PROPOSED PERMIT TO REGULATE THE EMISSION OF AIR POLLUTANTS

PERMIT NO. SJ 86-09

The Region 9 Office of the United States Envi ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) requests public comment on the proposed minor revision of a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) air quality permit. EPA issued the in itial PSD permit, in accordance with the PSD regulations (40 CFR 52.21), on Ja nuary 8, 1987 to authorize cons truction and operation of the Mt. Poso Cogeneration Company (Mt. Poso), a no minal 49.5 megawatt coal-fired power plant. The facility currently utilizes a blend of coal, petroleum coke and tire derived fuel (TDF). The proposed modification is to allow Mt. Poso to utilize a renewable fuel – woody biomass in addition to the existing fuels. Primary biomass fuel sources will include: agricultural waste in the form of orchard removals, orchard prunings, shells, and pits; and ur ban wood waste including tree trimmings, woody constructi on waste, pallets, and clean demolition wood from county and municipalities’ recycling programs. The Mt. Po so power plant is located at 36157 Famoso Hwy, approximately 15 miles north of Bakersfield, California.

All written comments or requests for a public he aring must be sent to Laura Yannayon at the contact information in this notice by e-mail or postmarked no later than February 15, 2010. All comments should address the proposed changes a nd discuss the specific issues/concerns you may have with these changes. An ex tension of the comment period may be granted if the request for an extension adequately explains why more time is required to prepare comments.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 124.12, EPA has discretion to hold a public heari ng if we determine there is a significant amount of public in terest in the permit revision. Re quests for a public hearing must state the nature of the issues propos ed to be raised in the hearing. If a public hearing is to be held, a public notice stating the date, time and place of the hearing will be made at least 30 days prior to the hearing. Reasonabl e attempt will be made to notif y directly any person who has commented on the proposed permit revision of any pending public hearing, provided contact information has been given to the EPA contact person listed in this notice.

All comments that are received wi ll be included in the administra tive record without change and will be available to the public, including any personal information provided, unless the comment

includes Confidential Business Info rmation (CBI) or other informa tion for which disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you consid er CBI or otherwise prot ected should be clearly

identified as such and should not be submitted th rough e-mail. If you send e-mail directly to the EPA, your e-mail address will be automatically ca ptured and included as part of the public comment. Please note that an e-mail or postal address must be provide d with your comments if you wish to receive direct not ification of EPA’s final deci sion regarding the permit and responses to comments submitted during the public comment period.

EPA will consider all written comments subm itted during the public comment period before taking final action on the revised PSD permit and will send notice of the final decision to each person who submitted comments and contact info rmation during the public comment period orrequested notice of the final permit decision. EP A will respond to all substantive comments in a document accompanying the final permit.

The decision will become effective 30 days from the date of issuance unless:

1. A later effective date is sp ecified in the decision; or

2. The decision is appealed to the Envir onmental Appeals Board pursuant to 40 CFR 124.19 (any person who submits written comments on the proposed permit modification or who participates in the Public Hearing may petition the Environmental Appeals Board to review a ny part of the permit decision within 30 days after the decision has been issued. Any person who failed to comment either in writing or by participation in the Public Hearing on the proposed permit modification may petition for review by the Environmental Appeals Board only those parts of the final permit decision which are different than the proposed permit modification); or

3. There are no comments requesting a cha nge to the proposed permit modification,

in which case the final decision sha ll become effective immediately upon

issuance.

All information submitted by the applicant is availabl e as part of the administrative record. The proposed revised permit, statement of basis a nd ambient air quality impact report, permit application and other supporting information ar e available on the EPA Region 9 website at http://www.epa.gov/region9/air/permit/r9-permits-i ssued.html. The administrative record may also be viewed in person, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, at the EPA Region 9 address below. Due to building security pro cedures, please call to ar range a visit 24 hours in advance. Hard copies of the administrative reco rd can be mailed to individuals upon request in

accordance with Freedom of Info rmation Act requirements.

Any written comments must be received (if sent by e-mail) or postmarked (if sent by U.S. mail) on or before February 15, 2010 at the following addresses:

E-mail: R9airpermits@epa.gov

U.S. Mail: Laura Yannayon (AIR-3) U.S. EPA Region 9

75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105-3901

If the proposed permit becomes final, and there is no appeal, the project will be subject to the conditions of the revised permit, and other applicable permit and legal requirements.

If you have questions, please contact Laura Yannayon at (415) 972-3434 or by e-mail at yannayon.laura@epa.gov.

Please bring the foregoing notice to the attention of all persons who would be interested in this

matter.