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U.S. EPA finalizes air permit for No Cal fiberglass facility

Release Date: 05/16/2006
Contact Information: Lisa Fasano, (415) 947-4307

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently approved a revised Clean Air Act permit for the Knauf fiberglass insulation manufacturing facility in Shasta Lake, Calif.

The permit, which revises an earlier one issued by the Shasta County Air Quality Management District in 2000, establishes new federal requirements for nitrogen oxides (NOx), which the facility’s earlier application and permit underestimated, and revises the emissions limit for particulate matter. Knauf is required to operate state of the art air pollution controls to keep its emissions of NOx and particulate matter below levels that are achieved by operating the best available control technology. Knauf is required to calculate its hourly emissions to demonstrate continuous compliance.

The revised permit obligates Knauf to conduct regular performance testing through an independent firm and requires the facility to make records of its operations available to EPA at anytime.

“This permit includes stringent air pollution safeguards and reporting requirements,” said Deborah Jordan, director of the EPA’s Air Division at its Pacific Southwest Office. “We will continue to work closely with Knauf to ensure that the facility closely monitors and controls emissions.”

The final permit approval follows a two month public comment period that generated 36 written comments, and 11 that were recorded at a public hearing held in Shasta Lake on March 8.

The facility on 3100 Ashby Road opened in 2002. Its operations include: raw materials handling; molten glass production; glass fiber forming; curing; cooling, and; facing, cutting and packaging.

For more information on the permit for the Knauf facility, go to: https://www.epa.gov/region09/air/permit/knauf/index.html

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