ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (ADEM)

NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR
AIR PERMIT AND NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT
AND REQUEST FOR COMMENTS
AND
NOTICE OF JOINT PUBLIC HEARING

LEE COUNTY

Notice is hereby given that ADEM will hold a Joint Public Hearing on Thursday, May 20, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., at the Opelika Municipal Court located at 300 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Opelika, Alabama, 36081, concerning the proposed issuance of an Air Permit and a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit to CreekWood Resources, LLC, 2701 Mall Drive, Suite 7-102, Florence, AL 35630, for a proposed granite quarry to be located on West Point Parkway (US Hwy 29) approximately 0.6 miles east of Lee County Road 177, Opelika, AL 36804.

CreekWood Resources, LLC, has applied for the issuance of an Air Permit (Permit Number 206-0051-X001) for the construction and operation of a granite crushing, screening, and conveying circuit with wet suppression.  Emissions of particulate matter would be minimized by the use of wet suppression.  The Department has determined that the equipment/operations proposed by the company should be able to meet State and federal air pollution control requirements.

CreekWood Resources, LLC has applied for the issuance of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit, NPDES Permit Number AL0084191, for proposed discharges of treated drainage from a wet and dry preparation granite quarry and associated areas to Halawakee Creek and an unnamed tributary to Halawakee Creek, classified as Fish and Wildlife in the Chattahoochee River Basin.  The Department has tentatively determined that the proposed actions described in this notice are consistent with the Water Quality Rules including the Department’s Anti-degradation Rules.

The purpose of the public hearing will be for interested parties to make oral and written comments into the public hearing record.  Those wishing to make oral comments at the public hearing are also encouraged to submit those comments in writing.  All comments must address the conditions of the draft permits; the Department’s adherence to the applicable environmental laws, rules, and regulations in development of the draft permit; or issues that have an impact on the applicant’s ability to meet applicable environmental laws, rules, and regulations to affect the final permit decision.  In order to affect final decisions, comments must offer technically substantial information that is applicable to the draft permits.

Special Public Hearing Procedures Due to COVID-19 Pandemic:

• Hearing Format.  In order to conduct an orderly hearing while continuing precautions to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, the Department will conduct the public hearing as follows:

• The Department will call only one registered speaker into the hearing room at a time to provide their testimony to Department representatives. There will not be a general audience in the hearing room.

• Each registered speaker will be allowed no more than seven (7) minutes to present their testimony.  Speakers are encouraged to provide lengthy statements in writing, and to present a summary of their statement during their testimony.

• The Department will not allow registered speakers to enter the hearing room until they are called to give their testimony.  However, each speaker should check-in with a Department representative upon arriving at the hearing venue.

• The Department will require that speakers exit the hearing venue after giving their testimony.

• The Department is not able to live stream the hearing or allow remote participation; however, the hearing proceedings will be video recorded and placed on the Department’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDwu2w3FpjGgT4ZOjhk6ZOw/featured within approximately 24 hours of the conclusion of the hearing.

• Preregistration:  The Department is offering preregistration to those who wish to speak at the hearing.  This will allow the Department to stagger the speakers’ arrival times thereby allowing adequate space for social distancing among attendees waiting to provide their testimony.

• You may preregister at https://forms.gle/6hzC4TDoexXh17Ah7 or, if any person does not have the ability to preregister online, they may call 334-394-4302 to preregister.

• Preregistration will end at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 17, 2021, to allow the Department adequate time to notify the people that did preregister of their appointed time slots.  If you miss the preregistration deadline, on-site registration will be available.

• To preregister, you must be willing to provide either a valid email address or cell phone number so that the Department may notify you of your approximate time slot in which you will be called to speak.  You may not request a specific time slot.

• You should arrive at the hearing no more than 15 minutes before your specified time slot.  At that time, please enter the hearing venue, and Department employees will alert you when it is your turn to speak.

• On-site Registration.

• The Department will conduct on-site registration for those that wish to speak at the hearing; however, preregistration is highly recommended.

• Upon registering, Department representatives will inform you of your approximate time slot in which you will be called to speak.  You will be instructed to return to the hearing venue approximately 15 minutes before your time slot.

• Please note that the people that preregistered will be called to speak prior to those that register on-site.

• Safety Precautions.

• All attendees are encouraged to wear masks within the hearing venue; however, once called into the hearing room, adequate distancing will be established to allow the speaker to remove their mask while speaking, if desired.

• All attendees will be subject to temperature screening prior to entering the hearing venue.

• Opening Statements by the Department.  Since the attendees will not be present in the hearing room while the Department provides its opening statements, links to the statements are provided below:

• Hearing Officer Statement (http://adem.alabama.gov/newsEvents/notices/apr21/pdfs/4opelika-officerstatement.pdf)

• Air Division Hearing Statement (http://adem.alabama.gov/newsEvents/notices/apr21/pdfs/4opelika-airstatement.pdf)

• Water Division Hearing Statement (http://adem.alabama.gov/newsEvents/notices/apr21/pdfs/4opelika-npdesstatement.pdf)

Any person wishing to participate in this hearing who needs special accommodations should contact the ADEM Permits and Services Division at (334) 271-7714 at least five working days prior to the hearing.

Copies of the draft permits and the Department’s permitting determinations and analyses are available for public inspection electronically via http://www.adem.alabama.gov/newsEvents/pubHearings.cnt, and at the ADEM Main Office in Montgomery Monday-Friday, except legal holidays, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. A nominal fee for copying and/or mailing may be charged. Arrangements for copying should be made in advance.

Attendance at the public hearing is not necessary to have comments included in the public hearing record.  Persons wishing to comment on the draft permits in writing may do so by submitting their comments by mail or email to the Department’s named contact(s) below no later than 5:00 P.M. on Thursday, May 27, 2021.  Written comments received prior to the close of the public comment period will also be entered into the public hearing record and will be given the same consideration as those provided at the hearing.  Commenters should identify the appropriate permit number on the first page of their comments.

Ronald W. Gore, Chief
ADEM-Air Division
1400 Coliseum Blvd.
[Mailing address: PO Box 301463; Zip 36130-1463]
Montgomery, AL 36110-2400
(334) 271-7861
airmail@adem.alabama.gov

Jeffery W. Kitchens, Chief
ADEM-Water Division
1400 Coliseum Blvd.
[Mailing address: PO Box 301463; Zip 36130-1463]
Montgomery, Alabama 36110-2400
(334) 271-7823
water-permits@adem.alabama.gov

In order to affect final decisions, comments must offer technically substantial information that is applicable to the applications or draft permits.  All comments must address the conditions of the draft permits; the Department’s adherence to the applicable environmental laws, rules, and regulations in development of the draft permits; or issues that have an impact on the applicant’s ability to meet applicable environmental laws, rules, and regulations to affect the final permit decision.

After consideration of all oral and written comments and consideration of the requirements of the Alabama Air Pollution Control Act, the federal Clean Air Act, the Alabama Water Pollution Control Act, the federal Water Pollution Control Act, and all other applicable regulations, the Department will make a final determination on the draft permits.  The Department will develop a response to comments for each permit, which will be posted to the Department’s website at http://app.adem.alabama.gov/eFile/.  To find the response to comments and final permit determination, you may search by the permit or facility number listed in this notice.

The Department maintains a list of interested individuals who are emailed legal notices regarding proposed permits.  If you wish to receive such notices, please sign up here by entering your email address on the left side of the page and clicking the submit button.

This notice is hereby given on 16th day of April, 2021, by authorization of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

__________________________________
Lance R. LeFleur
Director

Nondiscrimination Statement:  The Department does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in the administration of its programs.