Pencil This In: Illinois EPA Discussion On Petcoke Holding Sites

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 14, 2013 6:30PM

Petcoke piles on the banks of the Calumet River.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is holding a meeting 6:30 p.m. tonight at Eastside United Methodist Church, (11000 S. Ewing Ave.) in Chicago to discuss and answer questions about the application for an equipment construction permit by KCBX Terminals, a company owned by billionaire industrialists and conservative astroturfers Charles and David Koch. Last week Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against KCBX terminals accusing the company of violating state law by failing to provide adequate storage for the petcoke, a byproduct of oil refining that’s used in other countries as a cheap source of fuel. The piles of petcoke along the Calumet have resulted in thick dark clouds of black dust blowing in the wind and has forced families to bring their children inside and close their windows lest the soot contaminate everything it touches.

KCBX was previously issued a construction permit to install conveyors and other equipment at the facility. In July 2013, KCBX submitted an application to the Illinois EPA Bureau of Air requesting the construction permit be revised to add ten portable conveyors, one stacking conveyor and one portable hopper. The application does not request an increase in the amount of material that may be received, handled and stored on-site and does not increase permitted emissions. The Illinois EPA must act on the permit by Nov. 20 and will consider concerns of the surrounding community regarding dust emissions and air quality as a result of the petcoke being stored in the open.

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