Drax Settles With MDEQ On Gloster Plant Violations

Drax and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) have reached a settlement in connection with Notices of Violation (NOV) at its Gloster, Miss. plant. The NOVs were due to the alleged permit exceedance of hazardous air pollutant limits with respect to methanol and a failure to timely conduct an emissions performance test by a certain deadline. Drax fully cooperated and took immediate action to investigate the alleged violations and provide MDEQ accurate information promptly upon its discovery. 

As part of the settlement, Drax has agreed to pay MDEQ a civil penalty of $225,000, with $150,000 of that amount paid directly to MDEQ. The remaining $75,000 will go towards a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) to build a new dust suppression screen at the Gloster plant. The SEP will be completed in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the MDEQ. 

“We care deeply about the safety of our people and the residents of the communities in which we operate, and we take our environmental responsibilities and compliance extremely seriously,” says Matt White, EVP of Drax North American Operations. “Compliance is at the foundation of everything we do, and we have invested a lot of hours and resources with the goal of continuously improving our operations.” 

Latest news

Horizon Biofuels Explosion Kills Three

Horizon Biofuels Explosion Kills ThreeHorizon Biofuels, a wood waste processing plant that makes animal bedding and bagged wood pellets for domestic use in Fremont, Neb., suffered a catastrophic explosion that killed three in late July. After emergency crews battled...

read more

Find Us On Social

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Wood Bioenergy News Online hits the inboxes of subscribers in the wood-to-energy sectors.

Subscribe/Renew

Wood Bioenergy is published and delivered worldwide 6 times per year. Free to qualified readers in the U.S. Subscribers outside the U.S. are asked to pay a small fee.

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.