ENB Region 4 Completed Applications 03/19/2003

The Department has made a tentative determination to approve the renewal and modification of the Part 373 hazardous waste management facility permit for the GE Noryl plant in Selkirk, Albany County, New York.  A draft permit has been prepared. The 700 acre facility is primarily a manufacturer of Noryl® Thermoplastic molding materials which have a wide variety of applications in automotive, electric and building industries.  Some of the hazardous wastes generated during this manufacture are burned in the on-site A/P Hot Oil Furnace to heat Exxon Caloria HT 43 oil which, in turn, is used to heat the process reactors. Other  hazardous wastes generated  are collected in containers or tanks and sent off-site for treatment and disposal. The facility currently operates under a 6 NYCRR Part 373 hazardous waste management permit issued in December 1994 for five years which  authorized storage of hazardous wastes in tanks and containers for 90 days or greater and requires GE to perform post-closure activities and ground water monitoring at the on-site closed landfill.  Additionally, GE incinerates hazardous wastes in the  A/P Hot Oil Furnace under interim status provisions of 6 NYCRR Part 374-1.  GE submitted a hazardous waste management permit renewal application to maintain the closed landfill, conduct ground water monitoring and incinerate hazardous wastes in their A/P Hot Oil Furnace to the Department in June 1999. Since the permit renewal application does not seek authorization to store hazardous waste in containers & tanks for 90 days or greater, these storage areas will be reclassified as less than 90-day storage with a requirement in the permit to close these units as per the Department-approved closure plan in the permit at the time of  final closure of the facility; until then, GE will be required to maintain financial assurance for the closure cost and liability.  However, GE has yet to submit the updated financial assurance (FA) to cover the closure, post closure cost and liability assurance. GE is expected to submit FA in April 2003.  Additionally, GE has yet to submit the automatic waste feed cutoff testing procedures for two parameters to be included in the permit attachment.  NYSDEC will not issue the final Part 373 permit until GE submits these two documents.  

The A/P Hot Oil Furnace is currently operating in accordance with the August 1998 certification submitted as per the interim status requirements of Part 374-1.8(d).  The certification authorised the facility to feed hazardous waste to A/P Hot Oil Furnace at the rate of 47 lb/min.  As part of the permit renewal process, the  facility submitted a permit renewal application including GE’s trial burn plan & human health and ecological risk assessment protocols.  The protocol proposed to test the furnace at a  hazardous waste feed rate of 80.3 lb/min.  The Department reviewed this permit renewal application including GE’s trial burn plan & human health and ecological risk assessment protocols for the hot oil furnace and approved them. The facility conducted a trial burn test in November 2000 while feeding hazardous waste at the rate of 80.3 lb/min and submitted trial burn, and human health and ecological risk assessment reports in 2001. The Department reviewed these reports with assistance from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and concluded that the furnace at increased feed rate of 80.3 lb/min met all permitting standards in 6 NYCRR Part 374-1 for boilers and industrial furnaces (BIFs)  burning hazardous wastes and that the health impacts of the furnace stack emissions are within USEPA’s and NYSDEC’s acceptable guidelines.  Hence, the Department has tentatively determined to renew the facility’s permit for post-closure activities with the addition of the hot oil furnace and removal of tank and container storage for 90 days or greater.

The additional information on facility description, corrective action, legal references and basis for the tentative determination for renewing the permit with the modification is described in the FACT SHEET for this draft permit.  

Proposed Action:  Renewing Part 373 (Hazardous Waste Management) permit conditionally authorizing operating A/P Hot Oil Furnace with the increase in the hazardous waste feed rate to 80.3 lb/min.

A legislative public hearing is also tentatively scheduled to be held on Wednesday May 14, 2003  in the Bethlehem Town Hall, Room 101, at 5:00 pm. In lieu of or in addition to written comments, interested parties may also present their comments during the legislative hearing.  However, if no written requests for a hearing on the draft permit are received by the Department on or before the Wednesday May 7, 2003 deadline for written comments,  the public hearing will be cancelled with a press release and a newspaper notice from NYSDEC.

State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Determination: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has determined that the Part 373 (Hazardous Waste Management) permit renewal with the inclusion of the A/P Hor Oil Furnace is a Type II action with the increase in the hazardous waste feed rate to 80.3 lb/min from 47 lb/min to the A/P Hot Oil Furnace as an “UNLISTED” action as described in Part 617 of 6 NYCRR.  Based on the permit renewal application, trial burn & risk assessment reports of 2001 and the Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) submitted by the facility in August 2002, the Department further has determined  that the 373 permit renewal and increase in the hazardous waste feed rate to 80.3 lb/min from 47 lb/min to the A/P Hot Oil Furnace will not result in any significant adverse environmental impacts. A negative declaration has been prepared, filed and published in accordance with the sections 617.7 & 617.12 of 6 NYCRR.  

   

Deadline for public comment & request for legislative hearing: Comments on the draft permit should be submitted  on or before Wednesday May 7, 2003 to:

        Mr. William Clarke

         Regional Permit Administrator

         NYSDEC Region 4

        1150 North Westcott Road

         Schenectady, NY 12306.  

Document availability:

    

    The related permit documents are available at the NYSDEC central office, DS&HM, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY  12233-7251[contact Mr. Parag Amin at (518) 402-8609], the NYSDEC Region 4 Office, 1150 North Westcott Road, Schenectady, NY 12306 [contact Mr. William Clarke at (518)357- 2455] and at Bethlehem Public Library (at the reference Desk), 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, NY, 12054.  

    

Applicant proposes to construct a1510 square foot addition on an existing structure which will be used as a sign painting shop and install a 7070 s.f. paved area on property located at 3614 Carman Road, Town of Guilderland, Albany County, New York.  Both the addition and paved area lie within the adjacent area of FWW V-46.