The Department of Environmental Protection will host a public hearing on December 13, to accept comments on two air quality plan approval applications and a storage tank permit application for Perdue Grain & Oil Seed LLC for the installation of a grain elevator and a soybean oil extraction facility in Conoy Township, Lancaster County.

The 6 p.m. hearing will be at the Hellam Fire Company Hall at 163 E. Market St. in Hellam, York County. (formal notice)

“This hearing provides an opportunity for the public to voice any concerns and make comments about the applications,” DEP Southcentral Regional Director Lynn Langer said. “All written and oral comments we receive will be considered with the final review of Perdue’s permit applications.”

During the meeting, Perdue officials and DEP staff will offer brief presentations about the proposed projects and the agency’s role in reviewing the necessary applications.

Perdue is applying for a Storage Tank Site-Specific Installation permit for the installation of two above-ground storage tanks with a total capacity of 40,000 gallons to store hexane at the company’s proposed soybean processing facility. The hexane will be stored on-site and used to extract oil from the soybeans.

In addition, two air quality plan approvals will be needed for the processing facility—one for the installation of a grain elevator that will receive the grain and store it at the site and the other for constructing and operating the soybean oil extraction facility.

Due to potential hexane emissions from the new extraction facility, the overall project requires a Nonattainment New Source Review permit, which includes meeting the lowest achievable emission rate to offset the emissions. This rate compares Perdue’s emissions limits with those of other facilities.

Emission offsets will come from Perdue purchasing emission reduction credits from other facilities that have either shut down and are no longer producing emissions, or facilities that are applying emissions controls that cut their emissions.

In the event that the soybean processing operations are not constructed, the grain elevator would be a stand-alone facility.

During the hearing, interested members of the public will have an opportunity to present up to 10 minutes of oral testimony for the record about the storage tank permit application and air quality plan approval applications.

Those who wish to present oral testimony at the hearing can register by calling Dawne Wilkes in DEP’s Southcentral Regional Office at 717-705-4702, or by signing up the night of the hearing.

Individuals in need of an accommodation as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact Lisa Kasianowitz at 717-787-1323 or make accommodations through the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service at 1-800-654-5984 (TDD).

For anyone unable to attend the hearing, written comments on the storage tank application should be submitted by Dec. 17 to Eric Lingle, DEP Bureau of Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields, Division of Storage Tanks, P.O. Box 8762, Harrisburg, PA 17105. Comments will also be accepted by sending email to: tanks@pa.gov.

Written comments on the air quality applications should be submitted by Dec. 17 to Thomas Hanlon, DEP Air Quality, South-central Regional Office, 909 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, PA 17110.

DEP will provide a written response to all relevant comments provided during the public hearing and public comment period.

The administrative record for all three applications will be open for review and comment until December 17. It can be reviewed, by appointment, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at DEP’s Southcentral Regional Office at 909 Elmerton Ave. in Harrisburg. Call Anne Krasevic at 717-705-4743 to make an appointment.

The administrative record for the storage tank application may also be reviewed from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rachel Carson State Office Building at 400 Market St. in Harrisburg by calling 717-772-5599 to make an appointment. 

12/3/2012