The Newark Energy Center Plant is Here! (Formerly the Hess Plant)
New Changes, New Concerns
Energy Investors Fund – Newark Energy Center: Hess no longer owns the 655 megawatt
Natural Gas Plant. Energy Investors Fund owns and operates the plant. Energy Investors Fund bought Hess’s 50% stake in the plant in June 2014.
Newark Energy Center allowed air pollution:
35 tons per year (tpy) Volatile Organic Compounds
139 tpy Nitrogen Oxides
484 tpy Carbon Monoxide
101 tpy Particulate Matter
Target date open for commercial use May 2015 (information gathered from DEP)
2014 two air permits are up for public comment a Stacks Permit and Chemicals Permit
The Stacks Permit - Permit 1 – Newark Energy Center –BOP140001:
Permit 1: Changes in stacks’ height, diameter and location on their property from the original plan. NJDEP considers this permit to be a minor permit modifications
The Chemicals Permit – Permit 2 – Newark Energy Center – BOP140005:
Permit 2: Chemical storage and transportation will increase by 4 times. The chemicals are being brought to the community and used by the facility to treat effluent from Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission. The treated effluent will be used for facility cooling water. The permit is considered a significant modification. Chemtreat: third party consultant hired by Newark Energy Center to support need for additional chemicals.
Change from 420 tpy to 2267 tpy allowable chemicals to be used because the water from PVSC is not clean enough.
Increase to 1,483 tons per year of Sulfuric Acid for pH control (because of PVSC greywater is
not clean enough for the cooling tower) 406 tons per year “other” cooling water chemicals
Current Chemicals at Newark Energy Center: 20,000 gallons total:
• Aqueous Ammonia – 274,292 pounds (around 751 pounds per day)
• Sulfuric Acid – 306,267 pounds (around 772.8 pounds per day)
• Sodium Hypochlorite – 80,000 pounds (around 219 pounds per day)
More Information Needed
Energy Investors Fund: Newark Energy Center
• Emergency and disaster plans for spills and explosions. Plans with the ward, city, state, and county.
• Impacts to air quality in the local community and the City.
• Discharge Prevention, Containment and Countermeasure (DPCC) plan, and a Discharge Cleanup and Removal (DCR) plan and Spill Prevention Plan. City, Neighborhood, County and State emergency preparedness plans including evacuation plans.
• Timeline on construction of the facility, start-up and operation including chemical usage, delivery, and monitoring.
• Timeline or more information about the third modification permit that they have not submitted yet Community Recommendations
• Collaborate with local community groups, the US EPA, and academic partners to install local, air monitoring stations that would monitor and report air pollution levels during the construction and operation of the project. Monitoring should be performed consistent with citizen science monitoring protocols. Air monitoring data should be shared with the public.
• Mitigation plan to offset additional air pollution in Ironbound and Newark.
• In partnership with local communities, support or expand local health clinics and health promatores project whose goals include assisting residents, particularly children with Asthma related illnesses and other residents with cardiovascular ailments connected to or aggravated by air pollution. The program can include asthma related interventions, prevention and educational outreach, healthy home visits and potentially link with the indoor air filter projects to insulate and protect homes for asthmatic families
• Provide increased resources for local emergency services including; fire department, emergency medical technicians (EMT), local emergency planning committees, office of emergency management, etc., (especially since the municipality acts as a first responder in and spill or disaster associated with the plant)
• Passing of and enforcing cumulative impacts ordinance. Using the NJDEP cumulative impacts tool to better understand the impacts of the facility on Newark
• Community transparency: provide copies of all emergency preparedness plans with municipality, county, ICC, and libraries. Ensure that surrounding residents are aware of evacuation plans.
• Provide public notification and hold a public hearing if requested; for any permit modifications, emissions overages, increase and frequency used of the maximum allowable chemicals and/or plant operations that impact the community.
Please note: Information for the fact sheet came from NJDEP permits, BOP140001
and BOP140005 for further information about the permits you can visit:
