By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Even as a challenge was being submitted, Tennessee environmental officials have agreed to keep secret certain data on air emissions submitted by a Greene County chemical manufacturing firm seeking an easement in it current emissions limits.
The request submitted by US Nitrogen LLC was "granted in part and denied in part" by Michelle Owenby, head of air pollution control programs at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
US Nitrogen submitted the data to back up its request for an easement on emissions allowed during the startup of its nitric acid plant in Midway.
Even as the approval was being made public, David Bullock a Brentwood attorney, was filing a "strong objection" to the confidentiality request in behalf of Park Overall, a long time opponent of the Midway manufacturing operation.
In his letter Bullock charged that US Nitrogen has provided no support for its confidentiality claim and none of the information on emissions could be classified as a business secret.
In addition Bullock cited a state law that states the composition of any contaminants "shall not be considered secret, unless so declared by the department."
Bullock also noted that some of the disputed data has already been disclosed previously in a filing with the National Response Center.
Owenby, in her written decision, agreed with that argument and cited the same state law, barring emission records from being kept confidential.c
In her decision Owenby said that two of US Nitrogen's requests met the requirements for confidentiality, while the third did not.
The US Nitrogen confidentially request covered two documents containing data on actual and projected emissions and the company's standard operating procedures.
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