MPCA invites comments on proposed reissuance of permit for NSP's Chestnut Service Center in Minneapolis

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency sent this bulletin at 06/16/2011 09:43 AM CDT

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For release: June 16, 2010


Contact: Sam Brungardt, 651-757-2249

MPCA invites comments on proposed reissuance of permit
for NSP’s Chestnut Service Center in Minneapolis

St. Paul, Minn. ― The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) invites the public to comment on a proposed reissuance of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit for the Chestnut Service Center owned by Northern States Power Co. (NSP, doing business as Xcel Energy).  The Chestnut Service Center is at 1518 Chestnut Ave. N., Minneapolis, Minn.  The public comment period runs from June 17 to Aug. 1, 2011.

On July 19, 1987, NSP originally received a hazardous waste storage permit.  The permit was reissued March 1, 1993, July 24, 1998, and Jan. 31, 2005.  The MPCA Commissioner and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator have made the preliminary determination that NSP is in compliance with applicable state and federal hazardous waste rules.  Therefore, the RCRA permit should be reissued.

The RCRA permit authorizes and requires NSP to properly store hazardous waste in containers and storage tanks.  In addition, it establishes the requirements for site security, personnel training, facility inspections, emergency prevention and response, record keeping and reporting, financial assurance, liability coverage and air emission standards for containers.

The MPCA is authorized to administer its hazardous waste program (in lieu of the federal hazardous waste management program), excluding the EPA-promulgated RCRA standards for organic air emissions.

The draft RCRA permit and application are available for public review on the Internet at http://www.pca.state.mn.us.  This website may be accessed at the Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.  These documents are also available for review from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays at the MPCA’s St. Paul office.  The documents will be available for review through Aug. 1.  A copy of the draft permit and fact sheet will be mailed to anyone who asks the MPCA for them in writing or who calls Tin Tran of the MPCA at 651-757-2789, TDD 651-282-5332, or toll free at 800-657-3864.  For additional information on this permit, write to: Tin Tran, MPCA Industrial Division, 520 Lafayette Road N., Saint Paul, MN 55155-4194

The EPA will also issue a draft federal permit to address the items not authorized by the State of Minnesota.  For more information about the federal permit or to submit comments on the draft federal permit, please contact James Blough at 1-800-621-8431 or 312-886-3781, or write to: James Blough, US EPA Region 5, Waste Management Division DRP-8J, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-3590.

Interested persons may provide written comments about the draft permit modification to the MPCA at the above address, request a public meeting, or request a contested case hearing in through Aug. 1, 2011.  Written comments must include (1) a statement of your interest in the permit modification; (2) a statement of the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the draft permit modification that you believe should be changed; and (3) the reasons supporting your position, stated with enough detail to allow the MPCA to investigate the merits of those positions.

Written comments about the federal permit will be accepted by the EPA through Aug. 1, 2011.  Written comments and requests for a public hearing on the federal permit must meet the requirements of the procedures outlined above.  However, the EPA makes no provisions for a contested case hearing.  A request for a public hearing shall be in writing and state the nature of the issues to be proposed at the hearing.

After the public notice period ends, all comments and requests for public information meetings or contested-case hearings will be reviewed.  A final determination about reissuance of the RCRA permit will be made at that time.  A formal response to comments will be prepared in accordance with MPCA rules.  Notification of the permit decision will be provided to each person who submitted written or oral comments or requested a notice of decision.


Broadcast version

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency are seeking comments on the proposed modification to a permit held by Northern States Power Company for its Chestnut Service Center in Minneapolis.  The permit requires N-S-P to properly store hazardous waste in containers and storage tanks.  In addition, it establishes the requirements for site security, personnel training, facility inspections, emergency prevention and response, record keeping and reporting, financial assurance, liability coverage, and air emission standards for containers.

Comments will be accepted at the M-P-C-A from June 17 to August 1, 2011.  The draft permit and related documents are available for review on the MPCA website at www.pca.state.mn.us.


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