The state Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public meeting at the Hennessey Public Library at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, in the History Museum.

The purpose of the meeting is to advise interested persons about participation opportunities during the DEQ’s permitting process in coming weeks to determine if Sooner Solid Solutions of Hennessey should be approved for a Tier III commercial solid waste processing facility “of non-hazardous industrial waste.”

Not a Protest Meeting

“Please note this is not a meeting for protests,” stressed a meeting planner. “Its purpose is to advise interested persons on participation opportunities during the DEQ permitting process.”

Questions From Audience Those attending may ask questions during the meeting, but the reason for the meeting is to help the public understand the state’s permitting process. Also, DEQ representatives will not discuss specific aspects of the application that’s currently under review.

However, they will let those interested “know about participation opportunities during the permitting process,” the Times & Free Press was told.

Upcoming Hearings

Chief Engineer Hillary Young with the DEQ will chair the meeting and explain how permitting process hearings and meetings will be conducted in the coming months.

That schedule includes a much-discussed proposed commercial waste site near Hennessey.

That property is owned by David Dollar’s Sooner Solid Solutions LLC and it’s where the company plans to receive waste from “outof- state oilfield refineries.”

Only Out-of-State Customers

Currently, Sooner’s only customer-to-be listed on Dollar’s application is Marathon (Petroleum Corporation), the nation’s largest refining system that markets petroleum products. Also, as one of Sooner’s engineers told the Times & Free Press: “There are no Marathon offices in Oklahoma anymore. So, yes it will all come from out of state.” Dollar applied for a Tier III Solid Waste Processing Facility Permit with the state DEQ for processing and disposal of “spent caustic from refi neries and other industrial waste” on 32.2 acres located northeast of Hennessey (NW4 SW4 of Section 5-19N-6W).

When May Public Get Involved?

Young works in the Land Protection Division and will explain when oral and written public comments may be made on a permit application and how permitting process hearings and meetings will be conducted in the coming weeks.

Administrative hearing opportunities will also be discussed, according to the state’s public legal notice advertisement in The Kingfi sher Times & Free Press.

About Sooner Solid Solutions

That company is owned by David Dollar of Hennessey and he has asked the state to make “an exception” to the law for their project.

That’s because the property is not located three miles outside the Hennessey town limits as is required by law, but it is two miles from the town limits.

In July, Dollar purchased 32.2 acres a few miles northeast of Hennessey located in the center of property owned by Todd J. Vaverka of Hennessey.

The two have worked on other projects together and Vaverka granted “a private road/easement agreement” for access to a county road.

Dollar and Vaverka were also classmates at the Hennessey Public Schools and graduated the same year.

100-150 tons of Spent Caustic is Expected Each Day

The primary waste that will be received at the processing facility will come from refinery companies and will consist of spent caustic from treatment processes.

Spent caustic is a byproduct of using sodium hydroxide in refinery process to remove sulfur and other compounds from oil.

Spent caustic may contain compounds such as sulfides and phenols and is alkaline with a pH that varies from 9-14.

Sooner will not take any spent caustic material that is at or above a pH of 12.5 and ensure that all spent caustic is below hazardous waste characteristic levels.

The facility may receive other types of industrial waste from generators.

Any waste that is received from any generator will be required to fill out and sign a NHIW certification and submit to Sooner to keep as part of their operating record.

The spent caustic solution or other industrial waste will be mixed with fly ash and other coal combustion residuals (CCR) or other suitable materials.

It is anticipated that the proposed processing facility will receive approximately 100 to 150 tons of the spent caustic material per day.

The spent caustic and other industrial waste material is classified as Non-Hazardous Industrial Waste (NHIW) and will be managed in accordance with OAC 252:515, subchapter 31 requirements, and are addressed in Section 7 of the permit application.

Any other waste that will be received at the facility will require a similar lab analysis.

Sooner also states that “it will receive aqueous spent caustic from refineries in tanker trucks and unload directly into one of the designed concrete pits.”

To Contact “Applicant” and/or “State” The legal notice about the meeting included: “For more information, contact: 1. For applicant: Tyler Williams, Envirotech Engineering & Consulting, 2500 N. 11th Street, Enid, Oklahoma 73701. Phone: (580) 234-8780. 2. For DEQ: Hillary Young, DEQ, Land Protection Division, P.O. Box 1677, Oklahoma City, OK 73101-1677; (405) 702-5100.

Parking at The Library

In addition to parking in front of the library, there is some parking behind the library and the parking lot across the street from the library south of the funeral home is also available to the public.

Make sure you do not block fire department vehicles.