The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s regional director Joseph Feola announced that the agency has denied Kimberly-Clark Corp.’s permit application to burn tire-derived fuel at its paper facility in Chester, PA. “We denied the application because it lacked several key pieces of information, and because the company’s proposal did not include using the best available technology to control emissions for the burning of tire-derived fuel,” Feola said. “We could not approve of such an action - not even for a period of six months.”
DEP allowed Kimberly-Clark to conduct a three-day test burn of the material, a mixture of 8 percent TDF in with its previously permitted fuel source, consisting mainly of anthracite culm.
Following this test burn, the company requested approval for an additional six-month test burn. Since DEP advised that such an activity requires an air permit, the company applied for the permit.
DEP held a public information session, allowing more than 75 area residents and interested parties to learn more about the proposal and have their questions answered by DEP and Kimberly-Clark officials.
Since DEP could not fully review the application because it was incomplete, no formal public hearing was held.
This permit denial does not impact on the company’s existing air permit, previously issued by DEP for current operations at the facility, located at Front Street and Avenue of the States.