MAIDSVILLE, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will hold a virtual meeting tonight at 6 to accept public comment on an air quality permit for a natural gas-fired power plant in Monongalia County.
The proposed gas-fired plant is projected to emit 5.13 million tons of greenhouse gases, 321 tons of nitrogen oxide, 276 tons of carbon monoxide and 210 tons of particulate matter per year, according to a permit application prepared for the DEP by Ambient Air Quality Services Inc., a Pennsylvania-based air quality consulting firm.
Those anticipated emission levels are all well above federal significance levels, subjecting the plant to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations. That designation requires installation of emissions-limitation technology, air quality analysis to assess the effects of air, ground and water pollution.
The two pipeline-gas compressor units would be located 3,000 feet west of the Monongahela River. The application indicates that no greenhouse gas emissions will be associated with starting up, shutting down or operating the units.
The proposed start-up date for the facility is Jan. 1, 2025, according to the DEP.
The estimated cost of the project is $1.1 billion, according to the Public Service Commission.
The Monongalia County Commission approved a 30-year, $58 million payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the Longview parties in December 2020.
The agency said written comments on the proposal must be received by Nov. 1. Written comments may be emailed to [email protected], with “Mountain State Clean Energy Comments” in the subject line, or mailed to Edward Andrews, WV Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street, SE, Charleston, WV 25304.