SELC files petition with EPA raising concerns about air pollution permit issued to AdvanSix plant in Hopewell

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. —  The Southern Environmental Law Center last week formally petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to object to the Title V permit issued to AdvanSix Resins and Chemicals LLC, a chemical manufacturing plant in Hopewell, Virginia.

The petition, submitted on July 19 on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Mothers Out Front; Sierra Club, Falls of the James Group; and Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, raised concerns with the air pollution permit that the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued to AdvanSix in May and the barriers to meaningful public involvement in the permitting process.

“Considering the amount of pollution that this plant emits into the surrounding community, the public should have had access to the information it needs to ensure that permit is sufficiently protective,” SELC staff attorney Patrick Anderson said. “Our air pollution laws and environmental justice require more than this permitting process provided.”

In the petition, the organizations cited the lack of emission data in the permitting record—making it impossible for the public to fully assess the draft permit—and DEQ’s decision not to hold a hearing on the permit despite the significant public interest in the facility and hearing requests submitted by multiple area residents and organizations. The petition also highlighted the absence of adequate monitoring and testing requirements for a facility with a pattern of noncompliance.

The petition asks EPA to object to the permit and to direct DEQ to make the required information available to the public and offer a new opportunity for public comment. Under the federal Clean Air Act, EPA has 60 days to respond to the organizations’ petition.

The AdvanSix plant has a long history of environmental violations in an area severely burdened by pollution. AdvanSix is the state’s fourth largest emitter of nitrogen oxide and is close to five other major air pollution sources in Hopewell. Combined, Hopewell’s industrial sources of air pollution equate to 6.5% of the entire state’s emissions of criteria pollutants and 8% of the state’s emissions of air toxics. Over half of the city’s residents are people of color.