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Sacramento Bee December 23, 2005
Sacramento Bee reporter Chris Bowman had this to say: "Remarkable outcome and testament to the power of grassroots politicking and persistence" See Also: Document: Appeal of Inentec permit Red Bluff Daily News, 10/12/05: Citizens send loud message to county Red Bluff Daily News, 10/11/05: EDITORIAL: County should require EIR on InEnTec project Red Bluff Daily News, 9/9/05: InEnTec opponents air their concerns Red Bluff Daily News, 9/10/05: InEnTec appeal date set Red Bluff Daily News, 7/12/05: S.F. group calls for more thorough review of InEnTec For more information, contact:
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Waste plant blocked By Chris Bowman -- Bee Staff Writer A group of Red Bluff area residents has won its fight to halt construction of a high-tech medical waste processor after undercutting the developer's claims of a "pollution free" technology. An appeals board of the Tehama County Air Pollution Control District voted 3-1 late Wednesday to revoke the construction permits for Inentec Medical Services, which had just broken ground. The project had met no opposition from air pollution regulators, and county planning authorities had granted Inentec a land-use permit and a declaration of "no significant environmental impact." But after 10 days of testimony in hearings that spanned three months, members of the air district's appeals board determined that the agency's regulators had failed to adequately examine the emissions data the company submitted to win approval for operating a new waste recycling technology called a "plasma enhanced melter." Had the regulators done so, board members said, they would have discovered the data came from tests of a smaller and different model of the processing system than the one to be installed on the outskirts of Red Bluff. The board learned of this key finding and other discrepancies in the developer's claims after many days of testimony from Inentec officials and others. "I was shocked to find out that the (air emissions) data they analyzed wasn't even on this unit, and it wasn't on purely medical waste," board member Linda Henderson said in an interview Thursday. "If the numbers they put in aren't accurate, then the numbers that came out aren't accurate either," Henderson said. "It sounds kind of trite, but it really is a case of garbage in, garbage out." David Farmer, the president of Inentec, issued a brief press statement Thursday saying the company is "disappointed" with the board's decision. "The company is currently evaluating all of its options, and, as soon as they conclude what avenue they will take, we will let the public know," Farmer said. Inentec officials said earlier this month that they are scouting Los Angeles-area sites for a similar waste processor and negotiating with chemical manufacturers to treat their waste. Inentec promotes its patented melter system as an environmentally superior alternative to incineration and landfilling. Under super-high heat, waste combines with steam and forms a hydrogen-rich synthetic gas. The gas is cooled, purified and recovered for use as a clean-burning fuel that can be used in modified diesel or natural-gas engines. During processing, electrified gas - plasma - becomes so hot it not only destroys germs but completely vaporizes organic wastes, such as human organs. At the same time, hospital needles, glassware and other inorganic wastes are melted, forming a molten bath resembling lava. Molten glass and metal are recovered for potential use as construction material. In its application papers for county permits, Inentec characterized the technology as "pollution free" and said it had five such systems around the world that were running successfully. A group of Red Bluff residents, assisted by the San Francisco environmental group Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, learned through interviews and record searches that the Inentec systems emit cancer-causing dioxins and other toxic air contaminants, although at levels much lower than those from medical-waste incinerators. They also learned that the Inentec system in Hawaii was cited for stockpiling infectious waste because the the melter broke down for eight months. They also learned that another of the company's systems in Richland, Wash., experienced breakdowns and went bankrupt within a year. " It was an issue of credibility," said Lupe Green, 62, of Rancho Tehama, who helped collect 800 signatures of local residents asking the air district for a hearing to appeal the air permits. "We wanted to demonstrate that it was the community that was concerned about this plant. It wasn't just Greenaction coming in and stirring up trouble," Green said. Inentec officials countered that the problems in Hawaii and Richland stemmed from mismanagement by the companies that bought the system and not from the technology. One of the reasons the appeal hearing ran on for days "is that you had to understand the technology," said Henderson, a pediatrician. In the end, she said, "I could understand the technology, but I didn't think they could pull it off." |
