ENCINA WITHDRAWS CRITICAL PERMIT APPLICATION FOR PROPOSED PETROCHEMICAL FACILITY

NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA (October 20, 2023) – This week, Texas-based Encina withdrew a critical application for a permit that it needs to build a plastic waste processing facility in Point Township, Northumberland County. The facility, which Encina wants to site on the banks of the Susquehanna River, would use an energy-intensive process called pyrolysis to break down 450,000 tons of plastic waste each year into chemicals such as benzene, toluene, propylene, and xylene—some of which are carcinogenic—as well as residual toxic waste. Encina has not disclosed details about its unproven pyrolysis process, but it is poised to be a major source of harmful pollution for surrounding communities. 

Before Encina begins construction, it must receive a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for discharges of stormwater to prevent construction runoff from polluting the Susquehanna River. This week, Encina withdrew its permit application after an 11-month review from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) found that Encina’s application contained over a dozen major deficiencies and used “wholly inadequate” design and modeling approaches. This permit withdrawal represents a major setback to Encina, which must now redesign its construction plans and restart the permitting process. 

“Encina’s proposed facility uses unproven, undisclosed plastics technology that will produce carcinogenic and highly flammable chemicals. The fact that Encina has proven unable to comply with basic permitting requirements is a tremendous red flag for this project,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Clean Air Council’s Executive Director and Chief Counsel. “Local and state governments must continue to scrutinize Encina’s permit applications to protect residents and the environment from the dangerous impacts of this project.”

This permit withdrawal follows a long series of setbacks to Encina’s proposed facility. This summer, DEP denied the Act 537 sewage facilities plan amendment required for this project’s wastewater treatment system. And in March 2023, the Point Township Zoning Board denied Encina’s request for a zoning variance to exceed height limitations after hearing comments from local residents. 

“This is just another example of one of our major concerns,” said Sandy Field, member of Save our Susquehanna. “They don’t seem to know what they’re doing. When members of our community ask technical questions about the process, they say it’s proprietary or give evasive non-answers. Now it seems that DEP also wants details that Encina can’t provide and this is just for the permit to handle stormwater during construction. The way they seem to overreach with no technical expertise is very concerning to us. It seems like they’re just winging it.”