The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) will no longer process an application submitted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) to modify its Title V air quality permit after UNC withdrew its application.
UNC submitted its notification of application withdrawal on March 10.
DAQ had previously been processing a request from UNC to modify its air quality permit to allow it to burn engineered pellets in the boilers at its cogeneration facility. The facility on Cameron Avenue in Chapel Hill, Orange County, currently burns coal and natural gas to produce electricity and steam for use at the Chapel Hill campus.
The facility is classified as a major source requiring a Title V air quality permit. UNC will continue to operate under the conditions of its existing air quality permit, issued in 2024.
As part of its review of UNC’s permit application, DAQ held a public hearing on Jan. 16 to solicit feedback on a draft of the air permit. Those public comments led DAQ to request additional information related to emission estimates from UNC. At the time that UNC withdrew its application, DAQ had not yet received a complete response to its questions from UNC, and the application remained on hold.
Related documents, including the permit application, DAQ’s information request, UNC’s response (and attachments 1, 2, and 3), withdrawal notification, and the environmental justice report, are available online.
If you need this information in Spanish or another language, call 919-707-8446 or email Shawn.Taylor@deq.nc.gov.