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The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) and Highland Pellets, LLC (“HP”) entered into a July 26th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of an air permit. See LIS NO. 18-065.

The CAO provides that HP owns and operates a wood pellet manufacturing facility (“Facility”) in Jefferson County, Arkansas.

The Facility is stated to hold Air Operating Permit 2341-AOP-R1 (“Permit”).

HP is stated to have submitted a Self-Disclosure letter dated May 22, 2018, to ADEQ pursuant to the agency’s Environmental Self-Disclosure Incentive Policy. The CAO states that a review of the Self-Disclosure letter indicated that HP had:

. . . installed and operated eleven (11) unpermitted sources. The unpermitted sources included four (4) green hammer mills, four (4) heater baghouses, two (2) diesel tanks, and one gasoline tank.

The installation and operation of these sources are stated to violate General Provision 23 of the Permit.

The CAO states that a review of the Self-Disclosure letter and ADEQ’s 2018 Compliance Monitoring Database for Title V facilities indicated that HP failed to timely submit the Semi-Annual Monitoring report due on or before the May 1, 2018, due date. This is alleged to violate General Provision 7 of the Permit.

HP is stated to be preparing a Permit Modification application to submit to ADEQ that will address the 11 unpermitted sources. Further, HP is stated to be preparing a Semi-Annual Monitoring report for submittal.

HP is required by the CAO to within 30 calendar days of its effective date to submit a Permit Modification application to ADEQ to address the 11 unpermitted sources. Further, within 30 calendar days of the effective date of the CAO HP is required to submit the Semi-Annual Monitoring report to ADEQ that was due by May 1, 2018.

A copy of the CAO can be found here.