Health Department Gives More Time for North Birmingham Residents to Weigh in on Air Quality
The Jefferson County Department of Health has extended the deadline for comments on the proposed renewal of the air emissions permit for ABC Coke. The move comes at the request of residents and environmental groups.
Concerns about the permit heightened following a federal corruption trial where an executive with ABC Coke’s parent, Drummond Company, and a lawyer were convicted in a scheme to thwart testing for pollution near the Tarrant plant.
Sept. 21 was the original deadline for comments on the proposed permit renewal. Now, comments will be accepted until Nov. 15. Two hearings are set for that date at the Department of Health at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Residents can also comment online, according to the health department.
GASP, an environmental watchdog group, was one of the groups that requested the deadline extension.
Michael Hansen, GASP’s executive director, encourages people to comment if they notice odors from the plant, soot on their property or have respiratory health concerns that may be related to pollution.
“That’s the sort of thing the health department needs to hear about so that they can make the permit as protective of public health as possible,” Hansen says.
The health department recently launched a media campaign and posted fliers letting people know about the comment period. Industries like ABC Coke are required to renew their air emission permits every four to five years, health department officials say.
Jonathan Stanton, Jefferson County Department of Health’s director of Environmental Health Services, says they will send that feedback to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If ABC Coke meets federal emissions standards, the health department could renew its permit.
Stanton says residents can submit comments any time, not only during a proposed renewal period.
“They can always call us here, let us know that they are seeing something, and we’ll gladly come anytime day or night,” Stanton says. “If there is a legitimate complaint, we would gladly go to the facility and say ‘hey, look this is something ya’ll need to work on.’”
Voting nears to a close in Texas primary that may be crucial to control of the Senate
The GOP and Democratic primaries mark a potential litmus test for what direction base voters want their parties to go ahead of midterm elections this fall that will determine power in Congress.
Pregnant migrant girls are being sent to a Texas shelter flagged as medically risky
Government officials and advocates for the children worry the goal is to concentrate them in Texas, where abortion is banned.
The 2026 World Cup faces big challenges with only 100 days to go
Will Iran compete? Will violence in Mexico flare up? And what about funding for host cities in the U.S.? With only 100 days left before it beings, the 2026 World Cup in North America is facing a lot of uncertainty.
A glimpse of Iran, through the eyes of its artists and journalists
Understanding one of the world's oldest civilizations can't be achieved through a single film or book. But recent works of literature, journalism, music and film by Iranians are a powerful starting point.
Mitski comes undone
She may be indie rock's queen of precisely rendered emotion, but on Mitski's latest album, Nothing's About to Happen to Me, warped perspectives, questionable motives and possible hauntings abound.
This quiet epic is the top-grossing Japanese live action film of all time
The Oscar-nominated Kokuho tells a compelling story about friendship, the weight of history and the torturous road to becoming a star in Japan's Kabuki theater.
