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INFORMATION <br />of <br />ver <br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Mayor & City Council <br />FROM: Rebecca Haug, Environmental Administrator <br />DATE: May 11, 2009 <br />SUBJECT: Request by Great River Energy to Test Burn Tire Derived Fuel <br />Great River Energy has approached the City to request authorization to test burn Tire- <br />Derived Fuel (I'DF) at their Waste to Energy Plant in Elk River as a supplement to Refuse <br />Derived Fuel (RDF). TDF is processed (shredded) tires. <br />The reason for this request is the uncertainty of continued RDF due to the contract <br />negotiations between the counties who are currently providing RDF to the facility. Because <br />of this uncertainty, GRE is exploring alternative fuel options to ensure sufficient fuel will be <br />provided to the Waste to Energy Plant. <br />The test burn is amulti-phased process which GRE has detailed out in the attached letter <br />dated Apri128, 2009. The important thing to note is that they anticipate starting as early as <br />May 25, 2009 and completing the testing by October 31, 2009. The actual test burns are <br />expected to occur on less than 14 days during this period. The TDF will be stored in the <br />existing RDF receiving building. During the second phase, stack testing will be completed <br />to ensure that TDF combustion can be accomplished within the confines of the air emission <br />permit. <br />Under GRE's Air Emission Permit through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency <br />(MPCA) they are allowed to burn an average of 100 tons of TDF per day. The current CUP <br />for GRE does not allow burning of TDF so if the test burn is successful, GRE anticipates <br />amending their CUP to allow the use of TDF as a supplement to RDF. Based on the <br />information provided, City staff and the City's Environmental Consultant, John Lichter, <br />Leisch and Associates, are comfortable with allowing GRE to test burn TDF. <br />