Nov 24 2010
BlueFire Renewables declared that it has obtained all the final permits, such as wastewater, air and storm water for commencing construction of its premier commercial Cellulosic Ethanol project in Fulton, Mississippi.
These permits were obtained from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). They also acquired a Certificate of Permit Coverage coming under Mississippi’s storm water general permit, from the MDEQ, and a wetlands permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has also issued a Finding of No Significant Impact permit, and a Final Environmental Assessment for this project.
According to Arnold Klann, BlueFire Renewables’ CEO, the issue of permits reflects their company’s track record with respect to design, construction and operation of internal fuel production facilities, to meet or even surpass the required environmental standards or regulations. The permits also contain clauses to safeguard the interests of the workers and public safety and health concerns.
This project would be built inside an industrial park with existing infrastructure, and hence needs very little upgrades. The site is under a long term lease with Itawamba County, and can easily access interstate highways, railways and also barges, leading to easy transportation and receipt of shipping products and other materials. The County along with the City of Fulton has jointly begun work on the preliminary activities, such as clearing, grading and drainage upgrading, through a local Contracted Construction company, Century Construction. The work would be completed after a period of 120 days.
Mr. Klann further proclaimed that his company was happy to create new job opportunities and thus contribute to the Mississippi economy. At peak construction around 700 jobs would be available via an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contract (EPC) with Mastec. This project would permit BlueFire to exploit the wood and green wastes existing in the region to be used as fodder for the ethanol plant, which would produce around 19 million gallons of ethanol per annum
Source: http://www.BFREINC.com