Fresno Bee

August 13, 2004

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Bradley Angel Greenaction

(415) 248-5010

Air district suspends plastic recycler's permit

By Diwata Fonte
The Fresno Bee

HANFORD -- Plans were halted for a Hanford plant that would have been the first in the country to convert used plastic into diesel fuel, after questions were raised about the project.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District suspended Plastic Energy's Authorities to Construct permit last week to collect more information on possible pollutants or health effects.

Plastic Energy proposes to build a plant at the Kings Waste & Recycling Authority site along Highway 43 to melt postconsumer plastic -- such as packing peanuts and takeout containers -- into low-sulfur diesel. The company had planned to start construction this fall and finish by April.

According to a letter sent to Plastic Energy, the air district wants more details on what types of plastic would be processed, how the company would monitor its operation and how it would test for toxic pollutants.

Rick McVaigh, the district's permit services manager, said a major concern is the emissions from a gas, similar to natural gas, that would be generated from the plastic-melting process. "Since they're burning that gas on-site, we want to know specifically what that gas would contain."

The initial approval was based on the assumption that emissions from the gas would be similar to that of burning natural gas, a safe and well-understood reaction, McVaigh said. But after public inquiry -- most of it from the environmental group Greenaction -- the district decided there were too many unknowns, he said. The technology currently is being used in Poland and South Korea.

He said the re-evaluation should take a few weeks.
Plastic Energy President Henry Dwyer downplayed the suspension, saying the district just wanted to ensure that the company does not process polyvinyl chloride -- also known as PVC -- into fuel because its chlorine can cause air pollution problems.

While that exemption is not noted in the air district permit, Dwyer said, the company never intended to convert PVC into fuel and has no problem adding that detail into the permit.

Project opponents, however, said the suspension is a sign of much more. The plant is an "incinerator in disguise," said Bradley Angel, executive director of Greenaction in San Francisco.

He and about 15 residents and representatives from the Center of Race, Poverty and the Environment; Latino Issues Forum; and Central Valley Air Quality Coalition protested the project Thursday at Kings County Government Plaza.

They argued that the project should have had an environmental impact report, a public document that details the project's possible effects on the environment and community. They also said that the community was not informed of the project.

Dwyer said Plastic Energy followed all the rules. The project was under the jurisdiction of the Kings Waste & Recycling Authority, which sent notices of seven meetings since 2001 to The Hanford Sentinel newspaper and posted them on a Kings County bulletin board, a Kings Waste official said.

Dwyer also said the company met the standards of the National Environmental Policy Act but did not need to submit an EIR because it is exempt as a cogeneration facility.

The reporter can be reached at dfonte@fresnobee.com or (559) 622-2419.