Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Technical contact: Denise Leezer, 651-297-8236 Media contact: Nancy Miller, 507-280-3590 Rochester, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) seeks comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement for a proposal by Olmsted County Public Works. The county proposes construction of a third municipal solid waste combustor at its Olmsted Waste-to-Energy facility in Rochester. The third combustor, with a planned capacity of 200 tons of waste per day, would operate in conjunction with the two existing 100 ton per day combustors. Interested parties may submit comments on the draft EIS until 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31. The MPCA will host a public hearing from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17, to discuss the draft EIS for the proposed facility. The hearing will be held in the Olmsted County Government Center Board Room, 151 4th Street S.E., Rochester. The event will include an open house from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. followed by a formal presentation. A question and answer session is scheduled after the presentation. A court reporter will be on hand to prepare a written record of the proceedings. Written comments will also be accepted at the hearing. All comments made in connection with the draft EIS during the hearing and throughout the notice period, become part of the public record. The draft EIS for the proposed Olmsted Waste-to-Energy expansion is on public notice from Sept. 25 to Oct. 31, 2006. Written comments will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 31. The Olmsted Waste-to-Energy draft EIS is available on compact disk or in hard copy. Disks or paper copies will be mailed to interested parties upon request. Compact disks are also available for printing and/or review at the following locations:
· MPCA St. Paul office, 520 Lafayette Road N;
· MPCA Rochester office, 18 Wood Lake Drive SE;
· Olmsted County Courthouse, 151 4th Street SE, Rochester;
· Rochester Public Library, 101 Second Street SE;
· MPCA Web site at http://www.pca.state.mn.us.
Forward specific questions and comments on the Olmsted Waste-to-Energy draft EIS to: Denise Leezer, Project Manager
MPCA Environmental Review and Operations
520 Lafayette Road N
St. Paul, MN 55155
Ph: 651-297-8236; Fax: 651-297-2343
E-mail: denise.leezer@pca.state.mn.us