"Since it began operations, the facility was permitted to generate enough to power roughly 49,000 homes, according to a Greenleaf news release, by burning hundreds of thousands of tons of wood materials annually, including trimmings and orchard waste. But on Sept. 26, the Desert Sun reported that the plant's Title V operating permit was set to expire at the end of September and the company had not filed for renewal since announcing it would be "idling" its facility last year."
"The agency issued a formal notice of violation in June 2022. During its 2021 inspection, the EPA found that levels of several pollutants - including sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury - regularly exceeded permitted limits, with dozens of excess emissions recorded between 2016 to 2021, according to the 2022 notice."
Desert View Power Plant is a biomass-fired facility on Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians tribal land in Mecca that supplied electricity exclusively to the Imperial Irrigation District. The plant burned hundreds of thousands of tons of wood materials annually, including trimmings and orchard waste, and was permitted to power roughly 49,000 homes. Operations have been idled and temporarily halted since April 2024. EPA inspections and enforcement actions uncovered repeated Clean Air Act violations, with dozens of excess emissions from 2016 to 2021 and pollutants exceeding limits, prompting a formal notice of violation in June 2022. The plant's Title V operating permit reached expiration without a renewal filing.
Read at SFGATE
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]