Friday, March 16, 2018

TDEC Seeks Answer on US Nitrogen Permit


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental officials are seeking detailed data before acting on US Nitrogen's request to renew a key permit for its Greene County chemical manufacturing facility.
In a 12-page letter, including a three-page attachment, a deputy director for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has asked the ammonium nitrate manufacturer to respond to the more than a dozen questions within 60 days. The renewal application was submitted on June 9 of last year but the company subsequently submitted several amendments.
Questions posed by Deputy Director James P. Johnson include backup data for calculations of carbon dioxide produced in the process of producing anhydrous ammonia.
Other data requested includes the amount of nitrous dioxide emissions produced in the two pieces of equipment, known as trains, used to produce ammonia.
The letter notes that US Nitrogen's actual production rate for nitric acid appears to be far below the limit set in its permit.
Johnson also wrote that an on site review at the Midway facility raised questions about whether storage tanks on the site were properly permitted.
"During the Feb. 21 site visit we discussed the possibility that some of the storage tanks at the facility may not be properly permitted," the letter states, adding that state rules set specific limits on the level of emissions permissible for a permit exemption.
"US Nitrogen should submit forms and calculations, as requested below, in order to document that the tanks do not need to be permitted," Johnson wrote
Other questions raised in the letter include the ammonia injection rates used during performance tests and the test reports on the volume of volatile organic compound emissions.
The questions come amid an ongoing dispute between the company and TDEC over the findings in a nearly month long site visit by TDEC officials.
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