Waelz Sustainable Products (“WSP”) announced that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (“IDEM”) has issued an Air Permit for the operation of WSP’s zinc recycling facility in Cass County.
The air permit, which was also reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will allow WSP to complete construction of and operate the facility. Receipt of the permit also signals the start of a major hiring push to fill the 60-plus jobs so that the facility can begin operations in Q3 2021.
“This is strong proof that our facility is required to operate in accordance with requirements that are protective of human health and the environment and subject to appropriate oversight. We were very confident this would be approved but we’re still excited that it is official, so we can complete construction and begin operations,” said Michael Englert, General Manager of WSP. “Now we can turn to growing and training our team, so we are planning to host a job fair soon to start filling the 60 positions needed to run this state-of-the-art facility in its first phase of operations. We’re very much looking forward to getting up and running and demonstrating that WSP can contribute to the economic vitality of Cass County.”
Notable excerpts from IDEM’s Addendum to the Technical Support Document (ATSD) issued in conjunction with the permit include:
• This permit is protective of human health and the environment and will allow for environmentally sound operations that contributes to a prosperous economy.
• The permit contains applicable standards established by the U.S. EPA and the Indiana Environmental Rules Board, which will limit the emissions from the facility. The permit also contains applicable control device operating requirements, monitoring requirements, testing requirements, and associated record keeping and reporting requirements to assure that all permit limitations are enforceable as a practical matter and to assure that the source can demonstrate compliance with applicable state and federal rules.
• Regular inspections, regular stack testing, along with compliance monitoring, record keeping and reporting, will allow IDEM, OAQ to determine if WSP is in compliance with all air permit terms and conditions.
WSP is a joint venture between Indianapolis-based Heritage Environmental Services and Zinc Nacional of Monterrey, Mexico. When fully commercialized with a second kiln , the facility will employ 90+ full-time staff to produce zinc oxide, a widely-used component in numerous applications, such as sun block, diaper rash cream, cosmetics, sticky notes, dietary supplements, plastics, ceramics, galvanized steel, tires, motor oil and agricultural products like animal feed, and more, and will service the metals sector by providing a sustainable solution for the growing steel industry and minimizing the need for mining of 2 zinc. The project is expected to generate substantial business tax revenue directed to both Cass County and the State of Indiana and is slated to be operational in the third quarter of 2021.
