Opinion ID: 1651891
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Permit Conditions

Text: In addition to their argument that the permits will result in air pollution, Appellants argue that the Commission erred in affirming the permits on the ground that they do not contain conditions necessary to adequately protect public health and the environment. They claim that the lack of conditions violates both state and federal law. Specifically, they rely on a section from the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C § 6925(c)(3) (2000), and the Commission's own Regulations No. 8 and No. 23. Each of the cited provisions state that all permits issued shall contain such terms and conditions as the Administrator or Director determines necessary. Appellants argue that the permits in this case do not provide necessary conditions to protect against toxic emissions of dioxin, mercury, and chemical warfare agents and their byproducts. In contrast, ADEQ asserts that there are clear conditions provided in these permits, most notably the requirement that the permittees conduct a trial burn at the Pine Bluff Facility to determine if it will function as expected. ADEQ also points to the fact that there are a number of asterisks contained in the hazardous-waste permit. This is because the final conditions for all the units will become effective only after the trial burn is completed and approved, and the permit is modified to include all of the conditions and operating standards established during the trial burn. At that point, there will be an additional opportunity for public comments. The permits actually provide for two trial burns. The first will involve the burning of a surrogate compound, not the chemical agents themselves, which is harder to burn than the agent. If this trial burn of harder compounds results in good combustion, it would be expected that there would be good combustion for the easier-to-burn agents. Once the Facility demonstrates proper operation and the required destruction and removal efficiency while burning the surrogate compounds, the second trial burn will be conducted using the actual chemical agents. According to ADEQ, once these trial burns are complete, the risk assessments completed by the Army will be reevaluated, and public comments will be taken. Thus, the permittees will have to demonstrate again that they can meet all the permit requirements. In addition to this important condition, the AHO found that there were a number of general conditions (like that requiring the facility to be operated according to state law) and more than twenty specific conditions (like that limiting the facility to no visible emissions and that prohibiting the release of untreated chemical agents) contained within the permits. Appellants have failed to show that the Commission erred in affirming the air and hazardous-waste permits as they are. The statutory and regulatory provisions that they rely on require only such conditions as ADEQ determines necessary. Appellants have not shown that any further conditions are needed. Accordingly, we affirm the Commission's order on this point.