On Monday, over 100 people showed up at the Department of Environmental Quality’s information session about a permit request for one million gallons per day discharge at the Recycle Management plant in Alma on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River near Stanley.
GREAT NEWS – on Wednesday evening we received word that Recycle Management voluntarily withdrew its permit request.
The main concern with the permit was that it requested significantly larger discharge amounts than were needed by the recycling plant, and if granted, that discharge amount could be ‘traded’ with other plants up and downstream that needed to discharge more into the river than their permits allowed. So, even though the one million gallons per day wouldn’t have gone in the river at Alma, it could have gone in the river somewhere else. It’s confusing, yes, mostly because it makes no sense to allow an operation to have a discharge permit it doesn’t need.
It is our understanding that Recycle Management intends to submit a revised permit for consideration, though it is unclear what that permit will look like. We will be notified once that permit is submitted and will make sure to let you know when it is available for public review and comment.
In the meantime, take a minute to enjoy this spring weather in the Valley!