“The department currently is reviewing permit applications that would allow SPC to add two new activities to its 20-year-old metal recycling business,” Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Southeast Regional Director Joseph A. Feola says. “The company wants to process tires, and it also wants to process scrap metal that comes from municipal incinerators. The meeting will give the public the opportunity to understand exactly what is being proposed and enable residents to provide DEP with their comments and concerns.”
Before SPC can start these new operations, it needs what are known as Determinations of Applicability -- approvals given by DEP under statewide general permits. A general permit contains standardized conditions that apply to all who seek to operate under its coverage. Under a general permit, waste can be processed for beneficial use; the waste tires and scrap metal would be processed for beneficial use, according to SPC.
In addition to receiving Determinations of Applicability from DEP, the company may also need air permits from the city of Philadelphia before it could engage in processing tires or scrap metal mixed with ash residue.
Following a presentation by SPC, representatives of DEP and the Air Management Services section of the Philadelphia Health Department will discuss the application review process and answer the public’s questions about waste processing and air quality.
The meeting will be held from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. Monday, March 7 at the Calvary Gym, 3301 S. 20th St., at 20th & Geary, Philadelphia.
Copies of the permit applications may be reviewed in advance of the meeting by appointment at DEP’s Southeast Regional Office in Norristown or at the Philadelphia Library, Thomas F. Donatucci Sr. Branch, 1935 Shunk St., Philadelphia.
For additional information on recycling waste tires, visit DEP at www.dep.state.pa.us, Keyword: “ DEP Waste Tires.”