Fumigation Air Quality Permit Request Dropped in NC
The division had planned to hold a new public comment period and public hearing to enable additional input for the draft air quality permit. DEP reported that most of 1,100 comments received since Feb. 23 were opposed to issuing the permit.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality announced March 29 that two companies informed the state Division of Air Quality that day that they intend to stop fumigation operations at a facility in Wilmington, N.C., and won't pursue an air quality permit that called for increasing the use of the fumigants at the site. The letters came from Royal Pest Solutions, which currently operates at 800 and 810 Sunnyvale Drive, Wilmington, and Tima Capital, the company that had applied for a permit to change the facility to its name and increase the use of the fumigant methyl bromide.
Their letters seek state approval to withdraw the draft air permit and cease fumigation operations at the Wilmington location by April 10, after the current inventory of logs is fumigated, according to the state agency.
"At the request of our landowner, Tima Capital Inc will not be fumigating on this property after Royal Pest Solutions Synthetic Minor Permit cessation of operations and rescission of their permit effective April 10," said Tima Capital President Timurlan Aitaly in a letter to William Willets, the Division of Air Quality's permitting chief, and Brad Newland, the division's regional supervisor. "Therefore, no further permits will be needed by Tima Capital Inc for the sites of 800 and 810 Sunnyvale Drive."
Division officials are making arrangements to withdraw Tima's draft permit and rescind Royal Pest's current air quality permit for the facility. The division had planned to hold a new public comment period and public hearing to enable additional input for the Tima Capital draft air quality permit; the first comment period on the draft permit ran from Feb. 23 to March 25, and DEP reported that most of 1,100 comments received since Feb. 23 were opposed to issuing the permit.
A second fumigation company, Malec Brothers Transport, LLC, is requesting a new air quality permit to start a fumigation facility in Columbus County, and Malec is also proposing the use of methyl bromide. The state plans soon to announce a new public comment period and new public hearing for the Malec Brothers draft air quality permit.