WINNEMUCCA - State regulators plan to renew Cyanco's air quality operating permit, but not before they hear from the public.
Local residents have until April 8 to comment on the Nevada Bureau of Air Pollution Control's proposal, which would continue to regulate airborne emissions from the sodium cyanide manufacturer west of Winnemucca.
State regulators based their determination on studies conducted by the bureau and the applicant, which show that the facility will not violate any applicable ambient air quality standards.
The state found that the facility currently has the annual potential to emit up to 22.59 tons of particulate matter, along with 191.42 tons of nitrogen oxides and 3.19 tons of lead, among other pollutants. However, those figures include emissions that are not covered under the permit - such as releases generated by its building heaters.
Under the proposed permit, emissions of cyanide compounds would be limited to a combined maximum of 6 tons per year, or 0.68 pounds per hour at each of the facility's two plants.
Cyanco would also be required to keep its thermal oxidizers running at all times. (The equipment helps destroy cyanide compounds before they are emitted into the atmosphere, and it also reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides.)
Other stipulations in the bureau's draft permit are standard: Cyanco would be required to comply with applicable state and federal requirements - as it currently does - and it must also conduct compliance tests once a year.
Cyanco calls its facility a paragon of environmental and safety engineering.
The company first began to produce liquid sodium cyanide at a single plant near Winnemucca in 1990. Operations at a second plant got under way seven years later, and since that time, Cyanco has made numerous improvements to the facility.
Three years ago, the two plants reached a production milestone of 1 billion pounds, which amounts to roughly 60,000 loads that were delivered to its customers without incident.
Anyone who would like to comment on the bureau's proposal must submit his or her written comments to: Jennifer Collier, Division of Environmental Protection, Nevada Bureau of Air Pollution Control; 901 S. Stewart St., Suite 4001; Carson City NV 89701-5249. by April 8. Comments can also be sent by fax to: (775) 687-6396.
For more information, you can contact Collier at: (775) 687-9551.
A copy of the proposed action is available inside the Humboldt County Library's Nevada Room.[[In-content Ad]]
