Today, we report to you the latest on the push by Intel to receive approval to increase its discharges into the air by 200%. The State DEQ has provided an Update recently, and the public comment period is NOW OPEN. A virtual public hearing is offered for the community to hear the latest and hopefully be heard. Last month, the Herald covered this topic, and it is one to which residents of Washington County should pay attention. Here is a link to that story:
Intel Seeks Permit From DEQ To Double Emissions Of Hazardous Substances
Intel is asking to more than double its greenhouse gas emissions to nearly 1.7 million tons per year, which would be more than 3 tons per minute. That would make Intel the largest greenhouse gas emitter in Oregon.
Intel’s current air permit allows it to emit the following amounts of toxic air contaminants and
are also asking to increase those amounts in tons per year:
Nitrogen oxides from 197 to 402 tons;
Carbon monoxide from 229 to 550 tons;
Volatile organic compounds from 178 to 349 tons;
Fluorides from 6.4 to 12.2 tons;
Particulate matter (PM) from 41 to 67 tons;
PM10 from 35 to 67 tons;
PM2.5 from 31 to 55 tons.
The last two very small particulate matter emissions can go directly from your lungs into your
bloodstream and induce adverse health effects.FROM DEQ: About the facility
Changes to the permit are based on Intel’s proposed changes to its operations, including additional fabrication
cleanroom spaces at the Ronler Acres campus and increased emissions from the existing fabrication spaces at
both campuses due to additional manufacturing support operations. Both campuses emit pollutants. DEQ
regulates them under an existing single air quality permit issued in 2016 and most recently modified in 2022
Here is the notice from the DEQ-
We hope you will write in and attend the meeting on February 15th at 6 PM
- Join the Zoom meeting
- Join via phone:
- Call: 833-928-4610 (toll-free)
- Webinar ID: 893 0624 4389
Nina DeConcini here, from OR DEQ. I am writing to provide updates on the proposed air quality permit modification for Intel. We have reached the stage where DEQ has a draft permit ready to put out on public notice that complies with all state and federal regulations and considers what was shared at the public information meeting DEQ held in October 2023. Here is a link to the public notice, which we have also translated into Spanish:
021524IntelES.pdf (oregon.gov)
The public comment period begins today, January 10, and ends on Friday, March 1 at 5pm. A virtual public hearing has been scheduled on Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 6pm. In addition to electronic notifications to individuals and communities, DEQ is also sending out a post card (sample attached) to all residents and businesses within a two-mile radius of both the Ronler and Aloha Intel sites this week, providing links to the above-mentioned information. Altogether, postcards went out to 41,000 addresses.
All updates continue to be available on the DEQ project web page – https://ordeq.org/intel – including the draft permit and other related materials.
People are welcome to continue sending questions to me at nina.deconcini@deq.oregon.gov or 503-804-0840.
Thank you for continued interest.
Nina DeConcini
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
700 NE Multnomah Street, Suite 600
Portland, OR 97232
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Mobile: 503.804.0840
My new email address is: nina.deconcini@deq.oregon.gov
Sorry to be a cynic, but I don’t think enough people will care enough to fight this and Intel will get everything they want while the DEQ turns their head on its mission to protect Oregonians from exactly this type of environmental poison. The mainstream media won’t pick up the gauntlet on this issue for fear of offending Oregon’s corporate golden child and the people of Washington County and beyond will suffer.
I agree completely. And our only way to comment (as if negative comments would have any weight) is to join some sort of Zoom meeting. Crazy, but planned “craziness.” it’s purpose being to limit participation. If I hadn’t recently discovered the Hillsboro Herald, my only source of “journalism” until now about our community being Pamplin, I would not even have known about 200% increase in pollution. The amount of pollution Intel already “provides” to the citizenry is already excessive. No medical association, no individual doctors that I am aware of, no health-care organizations, even those of the state, county and city — appears to oppose the proposed actions. Perhaps more cynical than Chris C, I imagine more pollution in our community means more business for the medical profession. “First do no harm” indeed. No institution or group — religious, community, medical, political — appears to care and most of us are in the dark, unaware of what the elites on top have planned for our lives.
I would really appreciate some perspective – the numbers in the proposed new permit look large, but how do they compare with what’s already being emitted? For instance, the new proposed permit increases the allowed emissions of nitrogen oxides from 197 to 402 tons – how much is currently being emitted in the area by diesel vehicles?