Below is Sierra Club’s letter requesting an extension of Public Hearing and Comment Period regarding the Draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) EPA Permit No. AL0002879 Alabama Power Company Barry Steam Electric Plant .
As you may know, the NPDES permit program addresses water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants to waters of the United States. Because of Covid-19, we are requesting that accommodations be made for citizens to participate virtually in the Public Hearing.
Hopefully you and your organization will write a letter of request to ADEM, as well. ADEM will only grant our requests if there is enough "significant" interest.
On behalf of the Sierra Club, I am writing to request a public hearing on the above captioned permit. Given the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to mitigate the spread through social distancing, we would like to request that accommodations be made to participate remotely in such a hearing.
The terms of the permit are of particular interest to Sierra Club’s members. As the nation’s oldest and largest environmental non-profit, Sierra Club has an abiding interest in minimizing the pollution from toxic coal-burning operations, and this permit’s limits and terms – from compliance with Clean Water Act Section Section 316 requirements, to compliance with the ELGs, among other issues, are critical to limiting such pollution. Moreover, Alabama Power Company itself has referenced “the importance and complexity of the issue,” when discussing the potential for it to request an extension of the 30 day comment period for the Barry draft permit,1 which similarly reinforces the propriety of a holding hearing on the draft permit.
Relatedly, given “the importance and complexity of the issue,” Sierra Club further requests a two week extension of the deadline to comment on the draft permit. Although, as reflected in their filings in their mandamus petition pending before the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, it is critical that a final permit be timely issued, it is also critical that adequate time be provided for the public to meaningfully comment on the draft permit. Here, ADEM issued the draft NPDES permit for the Barry plant on the same date as it issued a notice for an air permit for the Barry Plant (a PSD permit for 2 new gas units), with the same 30 day deadline for comments.
The draft NPDES permit involves a number of important technical issues that merit the review and input from technical experts. Relatedly, the comment period spans a federal holiday and period when many people take vacation.
Accordingly, this merits a short 2 week extension of the public’s time period to comment. As Alabama Power Company itself noted, such requests for extension are normally granted, given the importance and complexity of the issue.2
We appreciate your prompt attention to and consideration of this request. Please feel free to e-mail me at julie.kaplan@sierraclub.org, or call me at (301) 758 3786 to discuss any aspect of this request. Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.
(Please address your comments to the people below:)
Mr. Jeff Kitchens, Chief, Water Division
Mr. Russell Kelly, Chief, Permits and Services Division
Mr. Scott Ramsey, Chief, Industrial Section, Industrial/Municipal Branch, Water Division
S. Shawn Sibley, General Counsel
Alabama Department of Environmental Management
P.O. Box 301463
Montgomery, AL 36130-1463
JWK@adem.alabama.gov
RAK@adem.alabama.gov
water-permits@adem.alabama.gov
SSibley@adem.alabama.gov
SRamsey@adem.alabama.gov