Dale Coal-to-Diesel permit hearing scheduled; comment period underway

State regulators have set a November public hearing on an air permit for a coal-to-diesel plant proposed for southern Indiana.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management will tentatively collect written comments and hear public testimony about the draft air permit on November 29,2018, at Southridge High School in Huntingburg at 5:30 p.m.

Riverview Energy officials say the plant proposed for the town of Dale in Spencer County would convert the region’s plentiful coal reserves into diesel fuel and other products.

The company’s air permit application says it would have annual emissions rates of about 2.2 million tons of carbon dioxide, 255 tons of carbon monoxide and 120 tons of sulfur dioxide.

If approved by IDEM’s Office of Air Quality (OAQ), this proposed permit would allow Riverview Energy Corporation to construct and operate a new stationary direct coal hydrogenation facility. The applicant intends to construct and operate new equipment that will emit air pollutants.

IDEM has reviewed this application and has developed preliminary findings, consisting of a draft permit and several supporting documents, that would allow the applicant to construct and operate the facility.

A copy of the permit application and IDEM’s preliminary findings are available at the Lincoln Heritage Public Library IDEM Southwest Regional Office 105 North Wallace Street 114 South 7th Street Dale, Indiana 46312 and Petersburg, IN 47567-0128

A copy of the preliminary findings is available on the internet at http://www.in.gov/ai/appfiles/idem-caats/.

Written comments and supporting documentation may be sent to IDEM. Comments must be received by mail and postmarked no later than December 10, 2018, or received by email no later than December 10, 2018. Please refer to permit number T147-39554-00065 in all correspondence.

Comments should be sent to:

Doug Logan, IDEM,
Office of Air Quality
100 North Senate Avenue, MC 61-53 IGCN 1003
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2251;
Dial directly: (317) 234-5328
Fax: (317) 232-6749 attn: Doug Logan
E-mail: dlogan@idem.IN.gov.