08-17-2008, 05:50 AM
quote:
Originally posted by james weatherford
George,
First, permits.
Specifically where and in what role have you 'been there, done that' as in permitting an MSW WTE?
Specifically which (of the several necessary) permits?
The County Department of Environmental Management information online will corroborate the 3 to 5 years -- actually, some estimates are for longer, I just didn't want to go there.
Second, costs.
Go ask the people who are doing it: the Pahio family at Business Services Hawaii and the good people at Atlas Recycling.
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park
You may not have noticed but I'm also posting on punaweb regarding Billy Kenoi. Because of that I'm very reluctant to answer your question regarding "been there done that" lest I inadvertently identify myself and get my tires slashed, or worse.
However, in regard to "what permits", the main permits required, and those that typically take the longest, are Covered Source (air), and NPDES (water). As for others, much depends on the physical location, zoning, and to some degree plant design specifics. For instance a Shore Line Management Permit may be required if you're within 500 ft. of the shoreline. As for the time required, I agree it usually takes 3 or more years. What you apparently missed is that the reason it usually takes so long is because people such as yourself almost always oppose this type of project and try to drag out the process as long as possible in the hope they can eventually stop it. On the other hand, with no opposition and good consultants the process can be remarkably speedy.
As for calling Atlas or some other recycler about the economics, you're confusing apples and oranges. To get it straight you might want to ask them not just about the economics of recycling paper but also about the economics of physically extracting paper from the material going into landfill. In other words, it's one thing to handle clean pre-sorted or easily sorted paper that's brought to you in bags and a completely different thing to rummage through the landfill waste stream for paper suitable for recycling. The 2 major reasons for this are: #1 is after the paper is mixed with the garbage much of it is crap not suitable for recycling. #2 is recovering it from the landfill stream is labor intensive.
Lastly, instead of trying to engage me in a battle over minutia I feel everyone would be better served if you spoke to the facts of the subject, leaving out sinister phrases such as "black box technology" obviously designed to instill suspicion and instead focus on the science, including realistic atmospheric chemistry.