More than three dozen people attended a meeting in Hennessey on Tuesday hosted by the Department of Environmental Quality.

It was called in order for the state agency to provide information to landowners concerned about a proposed industrial waste site just outside of city limits.

“The purpose of the meeting tonight is to explain the steps of DEQ’s permitting process that relates to the Tier 3 application for a solid waste processing facility that was submitted by Sooner Solid Solutions, LLC,” said Patrick Riley, manager of the Solid Waste and Sustainability Unit at the DEQ’s Land Protection Division.

Riley then read to the group part of the public notice that was submitted for the proposal “in case you’re not familiar,” he said.

Riley read the following:

“Activities to be regulated. If the application is approved, they were asking to construct, operate, maintain and enclose a processing facility to accept and process approximately 100 to 150 tons daily of non-hazardous industrial waste.

“Non-hazardous industrial waste will be treated through a stabilization and solidification method.

“Waste will be dumped inside concrete-lined pits where it will be mixed to initiate a stabilization and solidification process. And the primary function of the facility is to produce an alternative method for the disposal of spent caustic waste streams. And once the materials are processed and solidified, they’ll be used to solidify and or amend oil and gas waste that then will be disposed of at an Oklahoma Corporation Commission permitted facility unless another method is approved by DEQ.”

Riley said that’s what led to Tuesday’s meeting.

“For an application like this, we offer the opportunity for people to request a meeting to learn about how things are permitted,” he said. “And that’s why we’re here tonight.”

He introduced other DEQ staffers: Hillary Young, the chief engineer of the Land Protection Division at DEQ; Jeff Fittick, a professional engineer in the Solid Waste Permitting Section at DEQ.

Also on hand was Tyler Williams with Envirotech Engineering and Consulting firm, who was at the meeting representing Sooner Solid Solutions, which filed the permit.

“I want to make a point that this meeting tonight is not for protests,” Riley said.

“The purpose of the meeting is to explain the steps of the permitting process and to let people know how they can participate in the process.

“It’s important to know, and I’d like to point this out, that the process that we’re going through, the permitting process, is defi ned by Oklahoma law and administrative code. That’s the criteria that we use to determine if a permit is going to be issued or denied. It’s not up to our individual opinions on the validity of a project or its merits. It is fully controlled by the law and the regulations.

“We know that you probably have a lot of questions about the project and what is being proposed.”

Permit Now Under Technical Review

Riley then said the permit that had been requested is currently under technical review by the agency.

“We haven’t completed that technical review, so we don’t know if it meets the laws and the regulations and the things that are required for a permit to be issued,” he said. “It would be premature for us to address any technical issues at this time.”

He said there is a way for citizens to be notified if a permit has been issued or denied and offered a sign-up sheet for citizens wanting that information sent to them via email.

How Long Will Review Take?

“On your review, how much longer?” he was asked from the audience.

“We anticipate having a response to the applicant soon,” Riley said. “I can’t say exactly when. We want to be very careful about what we do. It goes through a series of reviews.”

That series includes permit engineers, the chief engineer and other DEQ management and then a response that is sent out.

“It’s typical for an application like this to go through an iterative process so that there won’t necessarily be an issuance, or a denial, right away,” Riley said. “It’ll be a request for additional information, a request for clarification. So it can still be awhile before there’s either a draft permit issued, or a denial.”

Do You Make Field Trips?

“I have a question: Do you make field trips? To the actual location?” he was asked from the audience.

“We will before a permit is issued, or a draft permit,” Riley said. “We drove by the site today, as a matter of fact, just to kind of get an eye on where it is, what the surrounding land looks like. It’s always a good practice before we’d issue a permit for any activity to see the actual land in which it’s going to happen.”

He was then asked why the specific area was targeted for the proposed site: “Why here in Hennessey?”

“That I can’t speak to right now,” Riley said. “I don’t have an answer for that.”

As for the process, Riley and his staff explained it in detail from the publishing of proper legal notices in local newspapers, the allowing for public comment, a public meeting and much more.

At The Meeting

There were 37 who signed in at the meeting: Anne Jones, Tim Riddle, Charlie Pickle, David Matousek, Jack Quirk, Kathy Patocka, Margie Patocka, Cole Ream, Tyler Williams, David Roller, Jack Tony, Logan Raum, F. Hladik, Angela Bruner, Elsie and Dennis Siegmann, Beatrix Barr, Samantha Dowell, Denice and Richard Shimanek, Jayne Stewart, Tiffany Rowen, Mike and Joan Maly, Clarence Maly, Harold Shaw, David Jones, Mike Booze, Gary and Ginger Hladik, Jody Rauh, S. Millsap, Mike Sparks, Randy Poindexter, Steven Mitchell, Chuck Hall and Barb Walter.