DEQ sets hearing to consider company’s barite request

DOUGLAS — The Powder River Industrial Complex, still awaiting a decision from Converse County commissioners on its request to accept hazardous materials, has filed for a second permit modification to accept up to 26,760 tons of barite per year.

Now, after the commissioners requested a public hearing for this latest proposal, the state Department of Environmental Quality has scheduled one in Douglas early next month.

Nearby residents raised concerns about the first modification request.

That modification, if approved, would allow the transloading facility to add two diesel generators and “have the option” of accepting and transporting up to 5,000 gallons of friction lube and 1.9 million gallons of antifreeze each year.

As of the end of last week, Converse County Clerk Karen Rimmer said, “We have not received the transcript or any other information pertaining to the first public hearing.”

Meanwhile, PRBIC’s newest permit application has hit the same wall of concerns as the first, even as DEQ Air Quality Division is recommending approval of the permit modification just as it did for the first one.

While the first permit modification request is for obvious hazardous materials, the second one for barite is less obvious and somewhat confusing.

Barite (BaSO4) is barium sulfate, a high density mineral compound which occurs naturally. It is used as a weighting agent in oil drilling and an aggregate in concrete.

According to various government websites, “Barite is generally considered non-toxic because barium sulfate, the compound found in barite, is insoluble and inert. While barium itself is toxic, the sulfate form is not readily absorbed by the body and therefore poses no significant health risk.”

However, some sites note that prolonged exposure can be carcinogenic and lead to lung cancers and, therefore, they call it a hazardous material, while other government and medical sites note it does not fall into the classification of hazardous by OSHA.

The county commissioners requested the second hearing in Douglas because of those same concerns surrounding the first request: increased hazardous materials being hauled to the facility, and increased traffic on the county road going past nearby homes and ranches.

In response to the commissioners’ request, the Air Quality Division scheduled “a public hearing relative to the requested issuance of an air quality permit for the proposed construction.”

The in-person hearing will be at 1 p.m. June 2 in the Douglas Library at 300 E. Walnut Street.

DEQ noted the hearing will not deal with some issues raised in the first hearing, however.

Specifically, DEQ said, “The hearing will be conducted pursuant to the provisions of Chapter IX, Section 5 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure adopted by the Environmental Quality Council, and therefore, will not be conducted as a contested case. The purpose of the hearing is to gather information concerning the emissions of air pollutants into the atmosphere and the impact of such pollutants on the ambient air quality.

“The scope of the hearing will be limited to such issues in order for the Department of Environmental Quality to determine whether or not the applicable Air Quality Standards and Regulations will be violated as a result of the construction of the facility.”

The full request can be seen on the county website (https://www.conversecountywy.gov/civicalerts.aspx) and in the public notices section of this week’s Douglas Budget.

This story was published on May 21, 2025.