Environmental Project to Complement State Alternative Fuels Efforts
Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has facilitated a supplemental environmental project in lieu of a civil penalty for air quality permit violations by BAE Ordnance Systems Inc. Funds will go directly to the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition to benefit alternative fuel use in Washington and Sullivan Counties.
“We’re pleased to have an outcome to this case that provides a direct benefit to the people of Northeast Tennessee,” said Environment and Conservation Deputy Commissioner Paul Sloan. “The project will not only benefit air quality through the availability and use of alternative fuels in Washington and Sullivan Counties, it also complements the efforts of the State of Tennessee under Governor Bredesen’s direction to develop and promote a statewide alternative fuels infrastructure.”
BAE Ordnance Systems Inc. is the operating contractor for the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, Tenn. The company has agreed through a negotiated settlement to perform a supplemental environmental project in which it will provide $59,000 to the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition to fund a grant program to support the development of biodiesel (B20) and ethanol (E85) retail stations in the Tri-Cities area. The coalition will administer the grants to complement the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s new $1.5 million retail refueling infrastructure grant program, which assists in the establishment of B20 and E85 refueling locations along interstate corridors and major highways in Tennessee, including the conversion or installation of storage tanks and dispensing equipment for biofuels.
The Department of Environment and Conservation may accept a supplemental environmental project with direct benefit to local communities in lieu of penalties only if it represents an additional action above and beyond what is required to return to compliance with environmental regulations. The activity or project must also be one the violator is not otherwise legally obligated to perform. In this case, BAE Ordnance Systems Inc. is providing the alternative fuels grant funding as a supplemental environmental project for violations of the emissions data reporting requirements of its Title V Operating Permit on certain dates in 2004 and 2005. The company has also taken steps to correct the violations and prevent similar violations in the future.
Last year, Governor Phil Bredesen signed Executive Order 33 forming the Interagency Alternative Fuels Working Group to develop a comprehensive state alternative fuels strategy that would provide a road map to make Tennessee a leader in the production, distribution and use of biofuels. In October 2006, with input and recommendations from the working group and a $4 million investment approved by the General Assembly, the Governor outlined a number of steps to increase biofuels availability at retail stations, produce more ethanol and biodiesel, assist local governments in making biofuels available to their fleets, and communicate the importance of biofuels to the public.
For more information about the State of Tennessee’s efforts to develop and promote alternative fuels in Tennessee, visit www.tdec.net/altfuels. For more information about TDOT’s retail refueling infrastructure grant program, visit http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/biofuel/application.htm. Information about the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition is also available online at www.etcfc.org.
For more information contact:
Tisha Calabrese-Benton
Office (865) 594-5442