JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality granted Drax’s Amite facility requests for a new permit on Wednesday.
Amite BioEnergy is a wood pellet processing facility, located in Gloster, Mississippi, under the company Drax.
A Title V permit was granted to the facility, which will now be categorized as a major source when it comes to emitting pollutants.
The hearing started on Tuesday, when witnesses from MDEQ shared previous records between the department and Amite BioEnergy.
Greater Greener Gloster witnesses also shared their concerns regarding the facility.
Concerns for their health were brought to the board, claiming that the facility has caused rising concerns in the community.
Residents complained of noise, smells, pollution, and dust coming from the facility. Additionally, they shared their thoughts about the facility’s previous violations.
The company has had previous violations concerning exceedance of limits among other issues.
Krystal Martin, co-founder of Greater Greener Gloster, shared how she believes Gloster residents have been affected.
“We have so many people who have been impacted by health,” Martin said. “A lot of people in our community are suffering from upper respiratory illnesses; a lot of people suffer from COPD, lung disease, people rely on oxygen daily.”
Before the decision, Martin also shared her beliefs for her present community and the future of the community.
“If Drax is given a permit to be classified as a major source of hazardous air pollution, I’m afraid that the people in my community, their health is going to continue to decline,” Martin explained. “The young children won’t have a future because our air will continue to be polluted, oversaturated with hazardous air pollutants, and our young children just won’t be able to live, grow, and thrive in a healthy and safe community.”
Day one of the hearing ended with the final Greater Greener Gloster witness.
On the second day, Drax Amite BioEnergy called forth their own witnesses who claimed that the facility has undergone changes to better comply with requirements.
According to the Amite BioEnergy witnesses, they have upgraded technology, machinery, personnel, and more to better comply with the permit.
One of these upgrades included an automatic shutdown, which will close the plant when it is out of compliance.
Jerry Norwood, Mayor of Gloster, shared his support for Drax.
“The record is, Drax is not a threat to our community. Drax has been a good neighbor. No citizen in the town of Gloster has ever come to me or any member of my board to complain about noise, breathing, water, dust, or anything,” Norwood said. “This is the first I’ve heard of this.”
Norwood continued to express why he supports the facility and what he hoped the board would decide.
“I know what goes on in the plant, and that little plant we have right there is not causing a problem. It has been an asset to Gloster,” said Norwood. “I’m glad they’re there and I hope and pray this board will approve this permit and we can move forward.”
Michelli Martin, U.S. Communications Manager for Drax, offered the company’s response to the concerns of those residents.
“The safety of the communities where we operate, the people that live there, our employees, is our top priority,” Martin emphasized. “We are working very hard to ensure we’re compliant with MDEQ and all the regulatory agencies.”
Martin also addressed concerns about the health impacts residents are fearing.
“We had a third-party toxics modeling study that showed there were no health impacts from our operations in that community,” Martin said. “Any time anything is brought to our attention, obviously, we want to hear about it and address it as soon as possible.”
After two days of the hearing, the MDEQ board granted Drax’s permit requests.
Drax has issued a response:
“MDEQs conditions, inspection regime and our commitment to continue to invest in compliance and improving operational standards will ensure that Drax at Amite operates as safely as efficiently as possible, demonstrating our commitment to the safety and health of our colleagues and the community.”
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