JEFFERSON CITY, MO, NOV. 17, 2022 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final hazardous waste permit modification for the Continental Cement Co., L.L.C. and Green America Recycling, LLC facility, allowing the company to continue operating at its Hannibal facility.
Continental Cement and Green America Recycling operate a hazardous waste storage and treatment facility at the site, located at 10107 S. Hwy 79 in Hannibal. Green America Recycling operates hazardous waste fuel programs, which include receiving, sampling, off-loading, storing and processing the liquid and solid hazardous wastes received at the facility. Most of the hazardous waste comes from off-site via truck and railcar. The liquid hazardous wastes are “blended” with other hazardous waste to achieve the desired fuel characteristics. The resulting wastes are stored in tanks until fed to Continental Cement’s rotary kiln. To supplement its fuel needs, Continental Cement also uses non-hazardous waste fuels, such as used oil, and a variety of liquid and solid hazardous waste-derived fuels.
Continental Cement and Green America have been operating at the site under a department-issued Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit. On June 1, 2021, Continental Cement/Green America Recycling submitted a Class 3 Permit Modification request to modify its existing hazardous waste permits to: prevent disruption of ongoing waste management activities; enable Green America to respond to sudden changes in the quantities of wastes managed under the permits; and to facilitate changes to protect human health and the environment. The department and EPA received the original modification request in its entirety June 4, 2021. Green America and Continental Cement then revised and resubmitted the modification request July 22, 2021.
While reviewing the permit modification request, the department approved Green America’s temporary authorization requests to begin construction and subsequent hazardous waste operations in certain hazardous waste storage and treatment areas. The requests also included: expansion of facility operations; upgrades to drum crushing and drum decanting/hydrapulper equipment; and adding a new burn pad container storage area adjacent to Continental Cement’s kiln. This temporary authorization included the construction of two direct burn pads, one for introduction of fuels to the kiln and one for the pre-calciner. The Class 3 Application includes only one direct burn pad, which will have the capability to burn fuels in both the kiln and pre-calciner.
Any parties adversely affected or aggrieved by the department's decision to approve and issue the final Part I Permit modification, or specific conditions of the approved Part I Permit modification, may be entitled to pursue an appeal before the Administrative Hearing Commission. Written petitions must be filed by Dec. 10, 2022, by following the process described on page 7 of the final Part I Permit modification.
The final Part I and Part II Permit modifications and additional information are available online at dnr.mo.gov/waste-recycling/what-were-doing/public-involvement/notices-comments or at the Hannibal Free Public Library, 200 S. Fifth St. in Hannibal. For more information about the final Part I Permit modification, or to obtain a written copy of the final Part I or Part II Permit modifications for review, please contact Jillian Hunt, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Waste Management Program, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176, by telephone at 573-751-6796 or 800-361-4827, or by email at jillian.hunt@dnr.mo.gov. Hearing- and speech-impaired individuals may reach Hunt through Relay Missouri at 800-735-2966.
For more information about the final Part II Permit modification, please contact Patricia Murrow, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7, Waste Remediation and Permitting Branch, 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, Kansas 66219, by telephone at 913-551-6796 or 800-223-0425, or by email at murrow.patricia@epa.gov.