Whoops!! TDEC Permit Has Typo

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A recently granted permit to a Greene County chemical firm has a typographical error and apparently will have to be amended.
The seven-page permit issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation on Jan. 30 to Praxair, Inc. leaves out a key verb, Shall.
In an internal TDEC memo posted today, an official of the agency's air pollution control division, asked a colleague about the procedure to be followed for such a change.
Praxair, a supplier of liquid carbon dioxide to the beverage industry, is one of three firms occupying a multi-acre site in Midway.
"The operating permit for Praxair Inc. needs to be amended," Shawn Auth wrote in the email to the Air Permit Control permitting section and TDEC employee Doug Wright.
The word "shall" was apparently omitted in the following sentence: "Visible emissions from this facility not exhibit greater than 20 percent."
Under the permit Praxair was given the right to produce up to 90,789 tons of carbon dioxide in any 12 month period. Once amended it will limit visible emissions to 20 percent. The permit expires April 1, 2029. The other firms operating on the same site are US Nitrogen and Yara Inc.
US Nitrogen was issued a new conditional major operating permit in December. It expires on April 1, 2029.
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Tennessee environmental officials have issued a separate permit to Praxair, Inc. a major supplier of liquefied carbon dioxide to the soft drink industry.
Praxair, which operates on the same Green County site as US Nitrogen, will get carbon dioxide in gas form from US Nitrogen LLC, and then liquefy it before shipping to customers.
The permit, which was issued Thursday by the Air Pollution Control Division of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, will be effective until April 1, 2029.
Praxair initially did not have a separate permit but was covered under a permit issued to US Nitrogen.
The seven-page permit sets annual limits on the amount of carbon dioxide the company can produce and also limits some of the air pollutants it can emit.
Under the permit Praxair must limit opacity at 20 percent for any six minutes in a one hour period and to four six minute periods in any 24 hour period. The company must also maintain records of emissions in any start ups or shutdowns.
The permit limits the company's water use to 2,400 gallons per minute and limits the amount of liquefied carbon dioxide produced to 90,789 tons per any 12 month period.
Finally the company must maintain logs showing the amount of carbon dioxide received from US Nitrogen and the amount of liquefied carbon dioxide shipped out.
Yet another permit is expected to be issued to Yara, Inc. which also operates on the same Midway site and previously was covered under a US Nitrogen permit.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

US Nitrogen Disables Auxiliary Burners

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

US Nitrogen LLC has sent photographic proof to Tennessee environmental officials that they have disabled two pipes feeding natural gas to auxiliary burners in its manufacturing operations.
The chemical company was required to submit the photos under the provisions of a revised permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The submission was one of several developments this week at the Greene County facility which produces ammonium nitrate and related products for use by its Ohio parent, Austin Powder.
The company also submitted a report showing that it withdrew 13.1 million gallons of water from the Nolichucky River during the month of January.
In a third development TDEC officials sent a letter to Park Overall, a local resident and environmental activist, stating that after an investigation the agency concluded that a large visible plume emanating from US Nitrogen on Jan. 18 did not violate the company's opacity limits set in one of its state permits.
"There was no finding of non-compliance," Ron Wilhoit wrote in the letter to Overall, who had sent photos of the plume to the agency.
Wilhoit added that the plume consisted of water vapor and "such a plume would not be considered a visible emission subject to this permit's opacity limit."
In yet another development, US Nitrogen has recommended a language change in one of its state permits to clarify the limits on carbon monoxide emissions and the requirements for compliance testing to confirm compliance.
The apparent confusion surfaced recently when the company and TDEC officials exchanged emails about the upcoming performance testing.
The permit change would limit carbon monoxide emissions to 8.32 pounds per hour or 36.44 tons in any 12 month period.
The river water report submitted to TDEC shows that the company pumped more than 800,000 gallons from the Nolichucky River on nine days during January, with the highest amount on Jan. 22. On eight days only a minimal amount was pumped from the river.
The company discharged 7.7 million gallons of water back in to the river. On nine days in the month the discharges totaled more than 400,000 gallons. On five days including Jan. 1 and Jan. 2 only a minimal amount was discharged.
In its last report covering the month of December US Nitrogen reported drawing 12.7 million gallons from the river and discharging about 6 million. The monthly reports are required under one of the company's permits.
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