Every major polluting facility in the country must have an air permit to operate. Permits are required by Title V of the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act empowers state agencies to issue the Title V permits for each major polluting facility in the state. In North Carolina, the Division of Air Quality issues air permits. Title V permits must be renewed every five years.
North Carolina’s Division of Air Quality has just issued a
draft of its air permit for the UNC coal plant. After a public comment period
and public hearing, it will issue a final permit that will last for five years.
Talking Points/Comment Letter
· The draft permit will
significantly increase pollution from the UNC coal plant and worsen the health
impacts on the community.
· DAQ has removed the heat
input limit from the draft permit, which allows UNC to burn even more coal and
emit more toxic air pollution.
· Without a heat input
limit, there is no way to enforce the limit on the amount of pollutants that
can be released from the coal plant’s smokestack.
· Without a heat input
limit, this permit allows the UNC coal plant to pollute as much as it wants.
· This permit will lead to
increased asthma attacks, respiratory illness, heart attacks, and premature
death for the surrounding communities.
· The coal-burning power
plant is located less than a quarter-mile from UNC Hospitals, harming the
health of patients and worsening outcomes during a respiratory pandemic.
· The aging UNC coal plant
is the dirtiest coal plant in the state. It has no scrubbers or other pollution
control technologies, and UNC has not invested in any upgrades.
· This weakened permit will harm the adjacent Pine Knolls community, a historically and predominantly African American community that has already been disproportionately harmed by the UNC coal plant’s pollution.
Comments can be submitted by email to DAQ.publiccomments@ncdenr.gov with the subject line ["UNC.15B"] You may also leave a
voicemail comment at (919) 707-8726. Comments will be accepted until May 6,
2021 at 5 p.m.
When is
the public hearing?
A public hearing will be held (by telephone) May 4 at 6 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time. Here are the details about how to register and participate by
phone:
Event
title: University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill
Date and
Time: May 4, 2021 at 6 p.m.
Phone: US TOLL +1-415-655-0003, Access Code 185 344 4346
How can I
sign up to speak?
If you
wish to speak at the public hearing, you must register by May 4 at 4 p.m.
WebEx
Link and Register to speak please visit: https://deq.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2021/03/31/release-public-hearing-draft-unc-title-v-permit-be-held-may-4 or call (919) 618-0968.
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Link to Winter 2021 League Line: https://www.bredl.org/theleagueline/Winter2021.pdf
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