Notice of Public Hearing
Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board
P. O. Box 2261 | Jackson, MS 39225
515 East Amite St. | Jackson, MS 39201
Telephone No. (601) 961-5171

Public Notice Start Date: March 29, 2023
Public Notice End Date:  May 15, 2023
Public Hearing Date: May 15, 2023	MDEQ Contact: Tracy Tomkins

First Chemical LLC dba Oleo-X (Oleo-X), located at 1001 Industrial Road, in Pascagoula, MS, (228) 938-2200, has applied to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for the following permitting actions: issuance of an Individual Storm Water Permit (Ref. No. MSS062731); renewal of the Water Pretreatment Permit (Ref. No. MSP090360); and renewal and transfer of the RCRA Hazardous Waste Management Permit (Ref. No. MSD033417031). The applicant's operations fall within SIC Codes 2075, 2076, 2077, and 2079. The permit board will hold a public hearing regarding these permitting actions at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, May 15, 2023, at the Pascagoula Senior Center, 1912 Live Oak Avenue, Pascagoula, MS. A Statement of Basis has been prepared for each permitting action that contains a discussion of the decision-making that went into the development of the permit and provides the permitting authority, the public, and other government bodies a record of the technical issues surrounding issuance of the permits. The Statement of Basis also addresses any changes to emissions and/or discharges resulting from any modification of the facility.  
Oleo-X will process soybean, animal fats and other vegetable oils. The finished product will be a deep degummed and super-bleached renewable diesel plant feedstock.
State Water Pretreatment Permit Renewal: Wastewater generated at the facility includes process wastewater from the decanting, centrifuging, and water washing steps of the process; sanitary wastewater; wastewater from the groundwater recovery system; storm water from process area #6 pad; blowdown from Reverse Osmosis System; and non-contact wastewater. Oleo-X has various technologies for treating their wastewater streams, including bleach and coagulants, dissolved air flotation (DAF), and granulated activated carbon (GAC) adsorption. Oleo-X discharges their wastewater to the Jackson County Utility Authority's Pascagoula POTW 7C, NPDES Permit No. MS0020249, which discharges treated wastewater to the Pascagoula River. 

Individual Storm Water Permit Issuance: This site is currently covered under the Industrial Storm Water General Permit No. MSR110075 and is being converted to an individual NPDES Permit. Issuance of this permit would authorize the discharge of storm water from three (3) outfalls into Bayou Casotte which is in the Coastal Streams Basin.  

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste Management Permit Renewal:  Oleo-X purchased the old First Chemical Corporation (a fully owned subsidiary of Chemours FC) site in June 2022. Both Oleo-X (as the new site owner and operator) and Chemours FC (the current responsible party) will be co-permittees on the hazardous waste management permit only and will be responsible for assuring compliance with all requirements of the permit. First Chemical Corporation held a hazardous waste management permit from MDEQ which addressed the following RCRA regulated units: operation of a hazardous waste incinerator, operation of five hazardous waste storage tanks, and post-closure care of a closed surface impoundment.  First Chemical Corporation closed the hazardous waste operating units in accordance with the existing permit, and Oleo-X operations will not generate new hazardous waste. The permit still contains the operation and maintenance requirements for the closed operating units, and after the permit transfer and renewal, Oleo-X will have the authority to modify the permit to remove the hazardous waste management operating units. The permit also includes groundwater monitoring and corrective action requirements associated with shallow groundwater contamination at the site resulting from historic operations. Additionally, the permit contains requirements related to financial assurance and leak detection and repair. MDEQ’s hazardous waste management permit, in conjunction with EPA’s HSWA corrective action permit, constitute the full RCRA permit for the site. EPA’s HSWA permit was renewed by EPA on September 25, 2012.
The staff of the Permit Board has developed the draft permits based on information submitted to the Permit Board by the applicant, appropriate State and Federal agencies and other interested parties. The staff of the Permit Board is soliciting all relative information pertaining to the proposed activity, including public comment, to ensure that the final staff recommendations on the draft permits comply with all State and Federal regulations. Public review and comment on the draft permits and supporting documentation is an important element in the staff evaluation and resulting recommendation to the Permit Board. The draft permit conditions have been developed to ensure compliance with all State and Federal regulations but are subject to change based on information received as a result of public participation.
Persons wishing to comment upon or object to the proposed determinations are invited to submit comments in writing to TRACY TOMKINS at https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/[TOMKINS-TRACY]/ or to the Permit Board address shown above, no later than the end of the forty-five (45) day public notice. All comments received by this date will be considered in the formulation of final determinations regarding the application(s).  Any comments relative to zoning or economic and social impacts are within the jurisdiction of local zoning and planning authorities and should be addressed to them.
The Permit Board is created by Mississippi Law for the purpose of issuing or denying, under such conditions and limitations as it may prescribe, environmental protection permits to control or prevent the release of contaminants into the air and waters of the State.  By law, the Board is composed of the Chief of the Bureau of Environmental Health within the State Department of Health; the Director of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Director of the Office of Land and Water Resources within the Department of Environmental Quality, the Supervisor of the State Oil and Gas Board; the Director of the Department of Marine Resources; the Director of Geology within the Department of Environmental Quality; and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce or their respective designees.

The Purpose of this hearing is to explain the proposed project and to receive comments from the public regarding the project and particularly the draft permits.  Upon arrival at the public hearing, everyone will be asked to register and note if they expect to make a statement.  Statements will be received in the order of registration (i.e., first to register will be the first to give public comment).  However, everyone will be given an opportunity to comment including those who indicated during registration that they did not expect to comment.  Persons commenting should keep comments reasonably concise and relate, at least generally, to the responsibilities of the Permit Board.  Because a large number of people often wish to speak, a reasonable time limit on each speaker may be imposed during the hearing. Comments can be presented in writing if preferred.  
All comments made during this public hearing will be transcribed and made a part of the Permit Board file in this matter.  Before making any decision, the Board will consider all issues and concerns raised regarding environmental protection.  Any interested party aggrieved by the decision of the Permit Board may file a written request for a formal hearing, after the formal evidentiary hearing the Permit Board will make its final decision in the matter. Any person aggrieved by that decision may appeal to the chancery court in the county of the proposed project.
Additional details about the application(s), including a copy of the draft permit(s), are available by writing or calling the Public Records Request Officer at the above Permit Board address and telephone number or by completing the form at the following website:  https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/about-mdeq/public-records-request/public-records-request-form/.  Additionally, a copy of the draft permit and statement of basis may be found on the MDEQ’s website at: https://opc.deq.state.ms.us/publicnotice.aspx . Additional documents can be found on the Online Public Hearing link at: https://opc.deq.state.ms.us/ensearchonline/public-hearings. This information is also available for review at the office of the MDEQ at the Permit Board address shown above during normal business hours. Please bring the foregoing to the attention of persons whom you know will be interested.