
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 22, 1990                   TAG: 9005220414
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: NARROWS                                LENGTH: Medium

CELANESE PLANT TO CUT EMISSIONS

Hoechst Celanese will be cutting down its acetone emissions level this summer, and officials hope to bring the level down 13 percent over the next two years.

The cut in emissions, which now average about 6,000 tons a year, was part of an agreement this month between the plant and the Virginia Department of Air Pollution Control, said Don Shepherd, the department's regional director.

Celanese officials also will have to pay the state $312,000 in exchange for beefing up the operation without proper permits.

The plant manufactures acetate filament yarn, which is used in filters for cigarettes and material for clothing.

"Mainly this is a matter of misunderstanding the requirements for construction," Shepherd said Thursday. "They really didn't realize until it was too late that they needed a permit."

Celanese began construction to increase its capacity in 1988 and had an improved manufacturing process in place by 1989.

After Celanese notified the agency of its plans in the spring of 1989, representatives from each group began nine months of meetings and negotiations to determine the types of permits needed and appropriate steps for Celanese, Shepherd said. The federal Environmental Protection Agency also was a part of the meetings, which ended with an agreement May 4.

"It was a very difficult call to make," Shepherd said. "It was hard to figure out what regulations had been violated. Once that was resolved, we worked with Celanese to come up with a plan to correct the problem."

The $300,000 penalty, which is to be paid by early June, is an attempt to eliminate any economic advantage the corporation may have gained from operating without the necessary permits, Shepherd said.

Although Celanese was not breaking any state emissions regulations, the plant was required to install the best available pollution controls, Shepherd said. "They bypassed that. As a result, the emissions were higher than we would have allowed in a regular permitting process."

But in they end, the emissions will be lower than the state would have required, Shepherd said. "It was kind of a good faith effort on their part."

The money will be turned over to the state literary fund.

by CNB