Pima County, Arizona - The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality (PDEQ) opened a 90-day public comment period on September 17, 2021 in order for the public to provide comments on the proposed Becton, Dickinson & Company (BD) Air Quality Permit. PDEQ will also host a virtual Open House on October 6, 2021, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. and an in-person Open House on October 27, 2021, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at Lauffer Middle School, 5385 E. Littletown Road, Tucson. All in-person attendees are encouraged to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and masks will be required. A virtual Public Hearing will be held on November 3, 2021, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. The purpose of these meetings is to share information and obtain public comments on the proposed issuance of the BD air quality permit. Written comments regarding this project will be accepted by PDEQ during the official Public Comment Period which began on September 17, 2021 and ends on December 17, 2021.
BD proposes to construct and operate a new product sterilization facility at 7345 E. Valencia Road, Tucson. Emissions of hazardous air pollutants from the proposed facility will consist primarily of ethylene oxide (EO) resulting from the use of EO as a sterilant in the sterilization of medical and surgical equipment. EO is a colorless and flammable gas with a faintly sweet odor. The facility will also operate three boilers and two emergency generators as ancillary equipment.
The air quality analysis submitted with the applications demonstrates that the impact from the proposed project will remain approximately five times below the safe ambient air concentration level of 2.0 x 10-2 µg/m3 prescribed by the EPA IRIS database and determined to be adequately protective of the public health.
Access to the virtual Open House and Public Hearing will be made available on the PDEQ Public Notice webpage https://bit.ly/37gdbWP. Any interested person may submit written comments on the proposed permit during the public comment period. Persons who submit comments to PDEQ should state:
- The action you wish PDEQ to take, including specific references to the portions of the proposed permit you believe should be changed, if any; and
- The reasons supporting your position, stated with sufficient specificity as to allow PDEQ to evaluate the merits of your position.
All comments received during the comment period will be included in the administrative record and will be available to the public. The public comment period for the proposed permit ends will end on December 17, 2021, at 5:00 pm. To be considered, written comments should be postmarked no later than such date and time.
Comments should be submitted to:
Rupesh Patel, Air Program Manager
Pima County Department of Environmental Quality
33 N Stone Avenue, Suite 700
Tucson, AZ 85701
e-mail comments to: [email protected]
or through the online public comment form
All data submitted by the applicant is available as part of the administrative record. The administrative record, including copies of the proposed permit, original and supplemental applications, fact sheet, and other supporting documents may be viewed between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at PDEQ, 33 N Stone Ave., Tucson. Most documents in the administrative record may also be obtained on-line at PDEQ’s website.
For more information, contact Natalie Shepp at 520-724-6885, or [email protected]