For immediate release: April 11, 2017
North St. Louis Resident And Missouri Department of Natural Resources Reach Settlement To Issue Air Pollution Permit to Mallinckrodt
ST. LOUIS, MO:
North St. Louis resident, Doug Eller, represented by Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, entered into a settlement agreement with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (“MDNR”) which requires the agency to issue an air pollution permit to Mallinckrodt, Inc. by August 4, 2017. Eller’s complaint alleged that MDNR failed for twenty years to issue a Clean Air Act, Title V, Part 70 Air Pollution Control Operating Permit to Mallinckrodt, Inc., which prevented local residents from participating in the regulatory process and commenting on impacts to the air they breathe.
According to documents received by MDNR, Mallinckrodt submitted an application in 1997 to the agency for the permit, yet twenty years later, MDNR had never issued the permit. Mallinckrodt is one of the largest emitters of air pollutants in the City of St. Louis, including large quantities of sulfur dioxide (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter of 10 microns or less, particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, hazardous air pollutants, and greenhouse gases.
“We are pleased that after two decades, MDNR will finally allow the residents of North St. Louis to comment on air pollution that they breathe and that Mallinckrodt, one of the City’s largest emitters of air pollutants, will have the appropriate permit,” said Great Rivers Environmental Law Center’s Staff Attorney, Bob Menees.
The Administrative Hearing Commission will stay the proceedings to determine whether MDNR issues the permit according to the settlement agreement before the case is dismissed.
For more information, contact Bob Menees or Kathleen Henry at 314-231-4181
Great Rivers is a nonprofit public interest environmental law firm in St. Louis that provides free and reduced-fee legal services to those working to protect the environment and public health. Its web address is: http://www.greatriverslaw.org