Bridgeton Neighborhood Association
  • In the Know
  • Community Action
    • LEVEE >
      • Neighbor Levee Comments
      • Levee Updates
    • Land Use
    • Clean & Green Team
    • Fundraising >
      • Bottle Drop Fundraiser
    • Clean Up
  • Bridgeton Gallery
  • About BNA
    • Community Resources >
      • Bridgeton Bylaws
      • Bridgeton Plan
      • BEECN & NET
      • North Portland Neighborhood Services
      • Our Neighbors in East Columbia
      • Our Neighbors in Kenton
    • Communications
    • Contact Page Form
  • Board Archives
    • BNA Meeting Minutes

BNA Clean & Green Team

DEQ should deny the application by ORRCO for air quality and solid waste permits.

4/30/2019

 
April 30, 2018
DEQ Air Quality Permit Coordinator,
The Bridgeton Neighborhood Association Green Team asks DEQ to deny the application by ORRCO for air quality and solid waste permits. We believe that health of our neighbors in the Bridgeton community and the natural environment surrounding us will be negatively impacted by the uncontrolled emissions and from ORRCO burning waste oil as fuel to run their processing plant. We also think that they are not carefully handling potential PCB’s that contaminate their collected waste fuel. 
DEQ has not been able to verify for certain what ORRCO emits. We want the oil refinery emissions to be monitored real-time, as they come out of the stacks and we want the full-spectrum results to be fully-disclosed and transparent. ORRCO should be required to install both a thermal oxidizer for the VOC gases and a Scrubber to contain all the Particulate Matter.
 
ORRCO’s system that allows for emissions self-reporting is not substantial enough for this dangerous type of industry. We think real-time monitoring technology has become readily available to verify exactly how much and exactly what hazardous agents are being emitted. There is evidence that refineries underestimate and underreport their true VOC emissions (like benzene, xylene and toluene which can cause headaches, dizziness and cancer) by 10-12 times. We want DEQ to stop allowing oil re-refiners to self-report their emissions and instead rely on quantifiable facts. 
 
DEQ should not grant a “used oil burning“ exemption to these oil refiners. It’s been misapplied. The original intent was for small space heaters in sheds as an “incidental process,” it should not apply to larger scale oil refining operations. By definition, it is not used oil by the time it hits their boilers because it’s already been processed into fuel. On one hand, DEQ calls it ‘used oil’ but on the other hand DEQ calls it “fuel” (i.e. on the proposed permit) However the two products are not the same thing and are not interchangeable. This mis-applied exemption causes the whole problem! We want DEQ do stop allowing this loophole as part of the ORRCO permit. 
 
Sincerely,
 
BNA Green Team Members
Bridget Bayer
Laura Miller
Ann Howell
Jon Peterson

    Categories

    All
    Air
    All
    Clean Up
    Land
    Recycling
    Safety
    Triangle
    Water

    RSS Feed


    Our Purpose

    The BNA Green Team:
    Focuses on land, air and water issues in the Bridgeton Neighborhood by promoting, advocating and creating a beautiful, sustainable, healthy environment.​​
    ​
    ​LAND - ​Bridgeton Triangle Beautification, Garbage & Recycling, Spring Clean up

    ​AIR - Monitoring, learning and supporting new policies to improve 
    air quality

    WATER - Watchdogs that inform public partners to keep toxins out of the river.

    ​


    BNA Green Team Meetings

    Join us monthly:
    Every other month
    4:30 - 6:00pm, dates &
    locations vary, contact bnagreenteam@gmail.com for the latest updates.

      Sign Up for the Green Team

    Submit

    Archives

    September 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017


    Resources

    LAND
    Garbage & Recycling
    ptld_garbage___recycling_resource_order_form.jpg
    File Size: 7206 kb
    File Type: jpg
    Download File

    recycle_the_holidays.jpg
    File Size: 6877 kb
    File Type: jpg
    Download File

     Gardens
    ​
    East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD)
    https://emswcd.org/about/

    Multnomah County Master Gardeners 
    www.multnomahmastergardeners.org/findmg

    METRO Yard & Garden https://www.oregonmetro.gov/tools-living/yard-and-garden

    Native plants https://www.oregonmetro.gov/tools-living/yard-and-garden/plants

    Ask Metro  503-234-3000

    SAFETY
    public_safety___livabilty_resources.jpg
    File Size: 7439 kb
    File Type: jpg
    Download File


    WATER
    Report water pollution and environmental problems here (link)

    AIR

Connect with Us on FB @BridgetonPDX or on Bridgeton.Nextdoor.com
​


  • In the Know
  • Community Action
    • LEVEE >
      • Neighbor Levee Comments
      • Levee Updates
    • Land Use
    • Clean & Green Team
    • Fundraising >
      • Bottle Drop Fundraiser
    • Clean Up
  • Bridgeton Gallery
  • About BNA
    • Community Resources >
      • Bridgeton Bylaws
      • Bridgeton Plan
      • BEECN & NET
      • North Portland Neighborhood Services
      • Our Neighbors in East Columbia
      • Our Neighbors in Kenton
    • Communications
    • Contact Page Form
  • Board Archives
    • BNA Meeting Minutes