Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact:  Sam Brungardt, 651-757-2249

St. Paul, Minn. --  The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is inviting public comment on the proposed reissuance of a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit for Safety-Kleen Systems’ Blaine Service Center.  The facility is located at 9261 Isanti St. N.E. in Blaine.  The public comment period runs from Feb. 24 through April 11, 2011.

Safety-Kleen received a hazardous waste storage and treatment permit in 1988.  The MPCA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have made the preliminary determination that the permit should be reissued.  A copy of the draft permit and a fact sheet will be mailed to any person who sends a written request to the MPCA or calls Tin Tran of the MPCA at 651-757-2789 (TDD 651-282-5332 for the Twin Cities metro area, or toll-free 800-657-3864 for the rest of Minnesota).  An announcement of the intent to reissue the permit and the draft permit may be seen at www.pca.state.mn.us/iryp3c9 .

The Blaine facility is a collection point for spent materials generated by Safety-Kleen customers.  The wastes are stored at the facility until they can be transferred to a Safety-Kleen recycling facility or to a contract reclaimer.  The service center is permitted to store 6,912 gallons of waste in containers and 15,000 gallons of waste in an above-ground storage tank.  The facility accepts ignitable, toxic and solvent hazardous waste.  These waste types include spent parts-washer solvent, antifreeze waste, dry-cleaning waste and photographic-imaging waste.

The permit application, draft permit decision, related information, and all data submitted by the applicant are available for public review at the Anoka County Library, 707 Highway 10 N.E., Blaine, Minn.  You may also review this information by appointment, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the MPCA’s St. Paul office at 520 Lafayette Rd.  Call Tin Tran at 651-757-2789 for an appointment.  .

Parties may submit written comments about the draft permit to Tran at the MPCA on or before April 11, 2011, at the address above, or may request in writing a public meeting or a contested case hearing.  Written comments must include (1) a statement of your interest in the permit reissuance; (2) a statement of the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the draft permit that you believe should be changed; and (3) the reasons that support your position.  Written comments can be submitted to Tin Tran, MPCA, Industrial Division, 520 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul, MN 55155-4194.

At the end of the public notice period, all comments and requests for public information meetings or contested case hearings will be reviewed and a final determination made on the permit reissuance.  The MPCA will prepare a response to the comments, and everyone who submitted comments or requested a notice of decision will be informed of the final decision.

The administrative record may also be reviewed at the EPA’s Chicago office.  Anyone wishing to do so should call James Blough at 312-886-3781 or 800-621-8431, or write to him at James Blough, U.S. EPA, Region 5, Waste Management Branch, LR-8J, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-3590.

The EPA will also accept written comments on the federal permit through April 11, 2011.  Written comments and requests for a public hearing on the federal permit part of the process must meet the requirements of 40 CFR Sections 124.11-124.13, which are similar to state procedures.  The EPA makes no provisions for a contested case hearing.  A request for a public hearing should be made in writing to James Blough at the address above, stating the nature of the issues proposed for a hearing.

In reaching a final determination about the federal permit, the EPA will review comments submitted during the public comment period.  The EPA will prepare a response to indicate which provisions of the federal permit were changed, if any, and indicate whether additional documents have been included in the administrative record.