Approvals

The first step in the approval process is a local land-use permit. Green Energy Partners, through a unanimous vote from Loudoun County's Board of Supervisors, cleared this hurdle in April 2010. This process, as expected, took more than one year to complete.

Green Energy Partners is now proceeding with State and Federal permits and approvals. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has responsibility for issuing air pollution permits for the Green Energy Partners power plant. DEQ has been granted the permitting authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA still has an oversight role and is often called on to assist with complicated issues for a particular evaluation. An approved air permit must be issued before construction of the power plant can proceed. There are several different types of air analysis that must be completed in order to obtain the air permit for this facility:

• A prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) analysis
• A new source review (NSR) analysis is needed to mitigate the metro ozone non-attainment issue for nitrogen oxides.
• A minor source permit will be needed for particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds, among others.

Green Energy Partners has filed for its air quality approvals.

There are numerous other state and federal permits and approval required before the facility can begin operations, including: water supply, wastewater discharge, storm water,  wetlands and streams, Chesapeake Bay Act, Potomac River Basin Commission, Health Department, natural heritage (threatened and endangered species, wildlife, recreation, agricultural and forest resources), cultural and archeological resources, erosion and sediment control , geology and mineral resources, VDOT-transportation infrastructure, FAA, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, US Department of Energy, and PJM.

Once filed, it is expected that it could take up to 12-24 months to receive the various required final State and Federal permits and approvals.

Here is a complete list of approvals GEP will need prior to construction:

• Loudoun County Rezoning and Special Exception
• Local Body Government Certification
• Town of Leesburg Effluent agreement
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Virginia DEQ pre-construction air permit, new source review permit and prevention of significant deterioration permit
• National Park Service
• U.S. Forest Service
• U.S. EPA
• Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination Permit
• Oil Pollution Act Compliance
• Solid and Hazardous Wastes
• Natural Heritage resources
• Cultural and Archeological Resources
• Geology and Mineral Resources
• Pesticides and Herbicides
• Army Corps of Engineers for tidal and non-tidal wetlands and wetlands, streams and subaqueous land
• Potomac River Basin Commission
• Virginia Health Department
• Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board
• VDOT
• Virginia State Corporation Commission
• Loudoun County Site Plan Approval
• Loudoun County Erosion and Sediment Control Plan
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• U.S. Department of Energy
• Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland Interconnection Market (the regional transmission organization)

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