NAGP
Connect
Our Story
Updates
archive 2017 Health Department Statistics 2022 Comment on AMR VI
About Our Story EVENTS Updates
NAGP
Resources archive 2017 Health Department Statistics 2022 Comment on AMR VI Connect

Feb. 2025 Lynn Robinson’s comment to PADEP on renewal of operating permit for Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook Terminal for NLG (natural gas liquids: ethane, propane & butane)

SEPTA’s 2023 Synthetic Minor Operating Permit (SMOP) for the Nicetown Gas Plant was renewed and combines SEPTA’s Gas Plant with Roberts Complex.

The email address for the Department of Health, division of Air Management Services is DPHAMS_Service_Requests@Phila.Gov

Click here for NAGP’s Comments AMS did not respond.

Click Here to see all related 2023 AMS documents

Click here for previously posted notes and comment points

Many thanks to all who wrote emails, and/or testified or attended the Health Department’s virtual Public Hearing on July 27th, 2023! We also thank Health Commissioner Bettegole and Deputy Commissioner Raval-Nelson for convening the hearing and inviting written testimonies and comments from the public up until August 31st. We are still waiting for a response to comments.

*AMS grants air contamination permits and enforces them. They also monitor ambient air quality in some sections of the city, (but not ours). Dr. Kassahun Sellassie is director.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 9, 2022 ended public comments about Philadelphia Air Pollution Control Board’s Amendments to AMR VI

Air Management Regulation VI is the Health Department’s set of rules for managing air emissions of TACS (toxic air contaminants) more widely known as HAPs (hazardous air pollutants)- carcinogens and nerve agents such as benzene, carbon tetrachloride, formaldehyde, lead, and asbestos.

Click Here for APCB Report in Response to Public Comments

Click Here for Our Comment

Our Comments were based on these documents: Amendments to AMR VI AMR VI Technical Guidelines. Health Risk Assessment Technical Support for AMR VI.

Useful vocabulary~

AMS (Air Management Services): the division of the Philadelphia Health Department which approves, denies, and enforces “air contamination permits,” provides notice to the public, conducts public hearings, and manages ambient air monitoring to measure air quality across the city.

Air Contamination Permit: written contract that gives permission to pollute the air, subject to federal, state and municipal codes, (also called air permit or air pollution permit).

Air Management Regulations rules for Philadelphia that can be created and amended by the Air Pollution Control Board and/or City Council. They must follow federal and state codes but are permitted to exceed their stringency, unless State law prohibits it.

Air Pollution Control Board: 7 Mayoral appointees and the Health Commissioner oversee AMS, can propose amendments to regulations and new regulations.

CHP Combined Heat and Power Plant (fuel burning)

Criteria Air Pollutants: 6 air pollutants for which legally acceptable levels of exposure can be determined and for which ambient air quality standards has been set : carbon monoxide (CO), ground level ozone (O3) nitrogen oxides (NOx, sulfur oxides (SOx), particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5) and lead (Pb). Emissions of criteria pollutants are measured in tons/year.

EPA Environmental Protection Agency, the federal agency that enforces federal environmental laws, including The Clean Air Act

HAPS (Hazardous Air Pollutants). Highly poisonous materials in the air. Small exposures are known to cause cancer and central nervous system diseases. Examples: benzene, carbon tetrachloride, formaldehyde, lead, asbestos. (HAPS are also called TACS- Toxic Air Contaminants)

Major Source (of pollution): A large source of pollution, as determined by EPA limits on criteria pollutants. Local examples include the former PES refinery, Vicinity Energy plants, Grays Ferry Cogeneration plants, Excelon plants, the PGW LNG plant at Port Richmond.

Minor Source (of pollution): A source of pollution with criteria pollution emissions less than the threshold for a major source

PA DEP Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Synthetic Minor Source (of pollution) A facility that uses equipment capable of emitting a major source of pollution, but agrees to keep annual criteria emissions under minor thresholds.

TACS (Toxic Air Contaminants) Highly poisonous materials in the air. Small exposures known to cause cancer and  central nervous system diseases. Examples: benzene, carbon tetrachloride, formaldehyde, lead, asbestos. Also called HAPS (Hazardous Air Pollutants.)

Title V: Major Source

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

nixthegasplants@gmail.com or 215-888-1894

………………………………………………………

Legal update: The Appeal case is closed. POWER has requested an EPA investigation into environmental racism in the permitting process.

The appeal to SEPTA’s Air Contamination permit process began December 2017. In November 2019 the Board of Licenses and Inspections Review (BLIR) sided with “The City” (Air Management Services,) and against the appeal. This appeal was a combination of an appeal brought by NAGP, and one by Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC) in collaboration with 350 Philadelphia. Later, NAGP appealed the BLIR’s decision to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. We withdrew that appeal after we concluded that our attorneys had little chance of winning. A loss would have set a negative precedent for the basis of our appeal: the PA Constitutional Environmental Rights Amendment. Soon after we withdrew the case, SEPTA started up the gas plant.

Press Release Feb 4, 2021
Lynn RobinsonOctober 29, 2019
2019 City Council Candidate Questionnaire: Their comments are below.

This is a 2 page document.

Read More
Lynn RobinsonJuly 3, 2018
 

Join our interactive facebook group: Neighbors Against the gas plants

e-mail: nixthegasplants@gmail.com

call/text 215-888-1894

Powered by Squarespace

Al Sham NAGP.jpg