Protest Vadxx Polluter in residential East Side Neighborhoods

Submitted by lmcshane on Wed, 03/27/2013 - 18:47.
04/09/2013 - 18:00
Etc/GMT-4

  In October 2012, the City of Cleveland Division of Air Quality and Ohio EPA have issued an air pollution permit for a proposed new facility at 79th and St. Clair. This facility, known as Vadxx, would use an incineration process called “pyrolysis” to burn plastics (medical wastes, auto fluff) and scrap tires and turn them into oil.  The company has a demonstration project in Akron, but has no full-scale facilities anywhere else.



The city and Ohio EPA issued this air pollution permit with NO public hearing and there have been no community discussions of what the impact of this plant could be on its neighbors.  The burning or “melting” of plastics and tires can cause a variety of air pollution hazards, including the release of dioxins.  The application for the permit is full of redactions and “blacked out” information (sound familiar? Remember Peter Tien?) so the public has very little information about what the facility is actually planning to burn on site.



The facility would be in the ward of Councilman Jeff Johnson, who has announced a public meeting on the proposed facility:



Tuesday, April 9 

6:00-8:00  p.m. 

Slovenian National Home 

6417 St. Clair Ave, Cleveland, 44103


Representatives of the Vadxx company have been invited to the meeting. This is an important time to come and ask questions and raise issues of importance to the community. 



To read a copy of the permit, visit: http://wwwapp.epa.ohio.gov/dapc/permits_issued/634509.pdf





Sincerely,



Sandy Buchanan sbuchanan [at] ohiocitizen [dot] org



Chris Trepal 
( categories: )

NO public hearing for Vadxx

Submitted by lmcshane on Fri, 03/29/2013 - 05:55.

At least when Mayor Jackson tried to shove an incinerator down our throats on the west side of CLE - there was an attempt to adhere to state laws...how is this permit approved with no public process on the east side of CLE????

Ohio EPA does not allow web look up of pollution permits -Vadxx

Submitted by Jeff Buster on Fri, 03/29/2013 - 08:33.

 

 

The text above is a screen grab from the Ohio EPA website.    

Funny, more than a decade after the internet has been adopted, the Ohio EPA still requires a written/mailed public records request in order for the public to obtain the permit record of existing pollution permit holders.

What this intentional "inconvenience" non-access means is that the OHIO EPA actually protects polluters from the public eye. The very agency that pays public salaries to its employees for the purported purpose of providing/protecting a healthy environment to the taxpaying citizens instead ACTUALLY facilitates the polluters!

Great system OHIO!  

The message to OHIO citizens is clearly: Protect your health and your families health - KEEP LEAVING THE POLLUTED STATE OF OHIO!

 

EPA permits for Vadxx aka Liberation Capital Vadxx Cleveland

Submitted by Gone Fishin on Fri, 03/29/2013 - 16:19.

Three permits were issued by the EPA for Vadxx :

The first one on 9/11/12 was a draft for initial installation:

Initial PTIO for identical emissions units P001 and P002. Each emission unit is a "waste-to-fuel" reclamation process converting plastics and rubber into synthetic crude oil with extruder feeding a reactor (pyrolysis/thermolysis) controlled with wet scrubber, activated carbon, and condenser with process heater using recovered non-condensable process gas or natural gas as fuel.

http://wwwapp.epa.ohio.gov/dapc/permits_issued/634509.pdf

 

The second permit issued on 10/17/12  was issued for Vadxx Ventures II and the initial location of 842 East 79th Street:

 http://wwwapp.epa.ohio.gov/dapc/permits_issued/644895.pdf 

 

 

On 2/12/13, the final permit was modified to change the name from Vadxx Ventures II to Liberation Capital Vadxx Cleveland and the location to 7901 St Clair http://wwwapp.epa.ohio.gov/dapc/permits_issued/978471.pdf

 

 

Vadxx Energy Success Story:

Raw materials

A tabletop display shows some of the kinds of industrial refuse that Vadxx can use to feed its waste-to-oil process.

Test vials

Dozens of test vials hold samples of the Vadxx end product: sweet light crude oil.

 

Vial capturing end product

Fumes swirl around the vial as the end product drips down.

  

 

Garrett and Ullom

 

 "It smells like money," says Ullom

 

http://manufacturingsuccess.org/SuccessStories/VadxxEnergy.aspx     

 

On March 7, 2013, Cuyahoga County Solid Waste authorized a request for a market development grant to pay the EPA $250,000 on behalf of Vadxx. http://www.cuyahogaswd.org/pdf_cuyahogaswd/en-US/Local%20Government/3.7.13%20Agenda.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vadxx stinks

Submitted by lmcshane on Tue, 04/09/2013 - 07:52.

Could the PD editors try and put any more lipstick on this pig?

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2013/03/city_of_cleveland_embraces_com.html

Lovefest...

Money talks

Submitted by Gone Fishin on Fri, 03/29/2013 - 07:04.

I called Neil Seldman, president of the Washington D.C.-based Institute for Local Self Reliance, who was quoted in the PD regarding Vadxx:

"Neil Seldman, president of the Washington D.C.-based Institute for Local Self Reliance, said in an interview Tuesday that the pyrolysis and gasification technologies are equally harmful to the environment."

"It is the exact same bill of goods," Seldman said. "Burning tires emits toxic chemicals. Plastics are toxic, medical waste is toxic. They are trying to gasify toxic materials."  http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2013/03/city_of_cleveland_embraces_com.html#incart_river_default

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Seldman told me that it was private money and private land, so not much could be done to stop Vadxx.  Mr. Seldman also told me that the Mayor of Cleveland, Frank Jackson, has a duty to protect his people.

This plan is already kicked into high gear.  The land is ready to go:

004_crop.jpg

Photo taken March 24, 2013.

Neil Seldman, president of the Washington D.C.-based Institute for Local Self Reliance,  told me that he is highly concerned about Vadxx and the residue from burning medical waste, tires and plastic in a residential neighborhood.  Seldman told me that Vadxx has made no mention on how to address the residue.

Dozens of school busses park just a few feet away from the proposed site on 79th and St Clair:

001_crop.jpg

And a large community garden about one block away:

006_crop_crop.jpg

 

I believe the plan to build a medical waste, plastic and tire burning facility in a RESIDENTIAL AREA is made to profit a person that owns several parcels of land in the direct area- one half mile away.

I believe the land will be a side road for the trucks dumping the 60 TONS of waste that will be burned on a daily basis.  His property leads right into the path:

001_crop.jpg

 

2317_crop.jpg

 

 

Read here for more details on Vadxx and Profiting from Pollution:  http://realneo.us/content/vadxx-energy-build-medical-waste-burning-facility-residential-area-gus-frangos-will-profit-p

Slum property such as this is in the way:

009_crop.jpg

HYPOCRITE & CON ARTIST - Gus Frangos, President of the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, and his SHELL LLC Property

See the photos here http://realneo.us/content/hypocrite-con-artist-gus-frangos-president-cuyahoga-county-land-bank-and-his-shell-llc-prope

 

 

* My blogs expressing my Freedom of Speech Rights, especially on matters of public concern, are my opinion and not the opinion of my friends, family or employer*

Ohio Citizen Action Vadxx flyer

Submitted by lmcshane on Sat, 03/30/2013 - 08:06.

Thanks to Lillian Sharpley for preparing this flyer outlining the dangers and see posts above (thanks to all here): http://freepdfhosting.com/a043761b46.pdf

 

Please print out the flyer and post widely.

Recommendations to Concerned Citizens & Residents

Become more involved in environmental issues and please attend the Public Hearing held 

by Councilman Jeff Johnson to determine if the City of Cleveland should go forward with 

Vadxx in the residential area. The details for the Public Hearing are below. 

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Slovenian Hall - 6417 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland OH, 44103 

For questions about this paper or about Cleveland Citizens For Clean Air, please contact 

Lillian Sharpley @lillyos [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Cleveland Citizens for Clean Air Speak out...

Prepared by Lillian Sharpley on behalf of Cleveland Citizens For Clean Air

Vadxx - VOC leaks are no big deal - OHIO EPA permit terms

Submitted by Jeff Buster on Sat, 03/30/2013 - 09:54.

 Thanks to Cleveland Citizens for Clean Air and Lillian Sharpley for producing the Vadxx report and for linking to the Ohio EPA "permit" for the waste incineration facility located next to residential neighbors on the East side of Cleveland, Ohio.  

 
In reading the Vadxx Ohio EPA permit  it is clear that the permit does not mandate much of anything from the facility - all the permit language is vague, open, self policed, and basicly meaningless.    
 
Here is a sample (regarding what the facility must do if there is a VOC leak) of the meaninglessness of the terms of the purported air quality permit from page 15 of the "permit":
 
 
(7) The permittee shall install an ambient VOC monitoring system to provide continuous 
monitoring of ambient levels that could indicate a leak in a specific zone. When a leak is 
indicated in a zone, the following procedures shall be performed: 
a. each component in the designated leak zone shall be evaluated using a properly 
calibrated analyzer or sight, sound, and smell;
b. when a leak is confirmed (> 10,000 ppmv), an immediate attempt must be made 
to repair the component. Components that cannot be immediately repaired must 
be tagged and logged, noting the date of the identified leak;
c. each leaking component (> 10,000 ppmv) must be repaired within 5 days;
d. if repair of the leaking component (> 10,000 ppmv) is delayed beyond the 5-day 
period, the permittee shall document the anticipated repair date and indicate 
justification for the delay in repair;
e. leaking components (> 10,000 ppmv) that are taken out of service by isolation 
and bypass, or process shutdown are considered to be in delay of repair; and
f. documentation shall be maintained summarizing the findings of each inspection 
performed for each leaking component (> 10,000 ppmv).
 
What needs to happen if their is a poisonous gas leak?   NOTHING!   
 
Even after 5 days of leaking what needs to be done?   NOTHING!   just keep a record of it!  Don't shut the plant or stop the process!
 
Good luck to the down-wind neighbors.   Can the OHIO EPA tell us where in the USA there is another tire burning facility in a residential neighborhood?   For that matter, can the OHIO EPA tell us where there are tire burning facilities in the USA?  Reklaim in Boardman, Oregon
 
 
What the OHIO EPA should do (besides not allowing the facility at all) is require that this facility put all its monitoring and production data on line 24/7/365 so the public can monitor the facility.    
 
That will never happen-  "trade secrets" will be the cry.
 
The Reklaim plant in Boardman, Oregon went bankrupt in 2010 and is now being recapitalized and expecting to go back into action.   Read the Reklaim news here on xconomy.  The boardman plant makes crumb rubber from the old tires, and feeds the crumb into the pyrolysis process.   Grinding the tires to produce the crumb rubber is very energy and equipment intensive and thus costly.   
 
 

 

 

 

Angie Schmitt Mansfield Frazier getting attention

Submitted by lmcshane on Thu, 04/04/2013 - 09:48.

I am grateful that Mansfield Frazier and Angie Schmitt recognized something REALNEO has documented for all of these years:

http://www.coolcleveland.com/blog/2013/04/the-opportunity-corridor-can-we-do-better

We can do A LOT better... it's not going to be easy...but we need to change the way we THINK about energy:

http://www.advancedenergyohio.com/membership/our-members