ROCKINGHAM — An administrative law judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Concerned Citizens of Richmond County which charged that the state issued — and reissued — a permit to Enviva without providing residents a chance to voice concerns about the plant being brought into the community.
In his ruling, Judge David Sutton said, “there are no material issues of fact in dispute.” This is a “final decision” in legal terms, though Concerned Citizens has 30 days to file a petition for judicial review in Richmond County Superior Court.
Myra Blake, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center who is representing Concerned Citizens, said in a statement that they are “disappointed” in the judge’s ruling and are reviewing how to proceed.
“The Department of Environmental Quality never provided the affected community with the public hearing that they are entitled to under the Clean Air Act, and the Department also changed the physical location of the facility multiple times without the necessary public transparency or opportunity for local citizen input,” she said. “Factual questions remain about why the Department failed to provide this community with the public participation opportunities that other communities receive.”
The lawsuit argued that a public notice — published in the Sept. 18, 2015 edition of the Daily Journal — was too vague in listing the location of the plant for residents to know if they would be affected. The ad listed the plant’s address as “Highway 177 Hamlet, NC,” without specifying the exact location.
The public notice stated that a request for a public hearing had to be submitted in writing by Oct. 18, 2015.
The permit, once issued, contained the wrong zip code. It was amended on April 7, 2017, but this time with the wrong street address. The final permit was issued on June 8, but, due to these changes, Concerned Citizens argued that the state would have to issue a new public notice.
An accompanying letter stated that the permit would have been “stayed in its entirety” were there to be a request for a hearing, in accordance with North Carolina G.S. 1508-23.
The plaintiffs cite language in the federal Clean Air Act which states that “(n)o major emitting facility…may be constructed in any area…unless…a public hearing has been held.” The state cited North Carolina law which required only that state give the public notice with “an opportunity” for the public to request a public hearing.
“The Department substantially prejudiced Concerned Citizens’ rights by issuing the permits for a major new source of air pollution without providing proper notice and participation opportunities,” the lawsuit read. “Had the Department provided proper notice of the proposed facility’s actual location, Concerned Citizens and its members would have taken full advantage of their right to public participation by providing their own comments, signing on to comments submitted by other organizations, and participating in a public hearing on the permit.”
The state countered that it “complied with all applicable public participation requirements when issuing the (p)ermits.”
Plans for the Enviva wood pellet plant were first announced in mid-2014. An official groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday and construction is expected to be complete by the end of next year.
Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674.