EPA Approves Permit for Puerto Rico Waste-to-Energy Unit

A waste-to-energy facility in Puerto Rico has gotten the go-ahead from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which approved an air permit for the construction and operation of a 77-megawatt unit.

The facility, owned by Energy Answers Arecibo LLC, a subsidiary of Albany, N.Y.-based Energy Answers International Inc., will use the former site of the Global Fibers Paper Mill in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, according to a news release.

The permit requires Energy Answers to use the best available control technology to reduce air pollution, as well as other monitoring requirements. In addition, Energy Answers will pay for a second monitor in the community to collect data on lead emissions.

The Washington-based EPA first proposed the permit in May 2012.