FSEC approves Grays Harbor Energy Center Title V and acid‑rain permits after EPA review

The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council voted Feb. 18 to issue a Title V air operating permit and a related acid‑rain permit renewal for the Grays Harbor Energy Center, accepting staff’s recommendation after the Environmental Protection Agency completed its 45‑day review with no comments.

For the record, Sarah Randolph, site specialist for Grays Harbor, told the council the permit documents and the Technical Support Document were posted for public comment in 2025 and were then sent to EPA for the required 45‑day review, which closed Feb. 2, 2026, “with no comments or concerns from the EPA reviewers.” She said the public comment period on the broader action had run Oct. 6–Nov. 5, 2025, and no comments were received on the permits themselves.

Council members asked technical questions before the vote about reporting formats and how SO2 allowances are handled in the permit language. Eric Pace of Grays Harbor Energy explained that the permit’s SO2 allowance entry is a changing value tied to annual production and that the facility must hold allowances “to cover the SO2 offset of what we produced the previous year.” Aaron Manley (ORCA), on the line as a technical resource, said minor wording changes likely would require returning the text to EPA for review.

After discussion, a council member moved to approve issuance of the Title V operating permit, the acid‑rain permit, and the accompanying Technical Support Document; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Chair Beckett announced, “Permits are approved.”

The action authorizes the agency to issue the documented permits; staff noted routine reporting may be accepted electronically unless a particular federal regulation still requires hard copies.

Next steps include publishing the final permit documents and continuing the compliance and inspection processes described in the Technical Support Document.