Dozens of community members expressed frustration and disapproval at Thursday’s public hearing on a proposed modification to UNC-Chapel Hill’s air quality permit. The modification would add engineered fuel pellets to a list of resources that the university can burn in its cogeneration plant, which produces steam and electricity that powers the campus. The plant, which sits on Cameron Avenue in the middle of a residential area, currently burns mainly coal and natural gas. The fuel pellets that would be added by this modification are engineered by Convergen Energy, a Wisconsin-based company, out of plastic and paper waste. They contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, which are known to accumulate in the environment and in the human body. The hearing was hosted by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality and was held in the Chapel Hill Town Hall. The hearing officer was Melinda Wolanin, regional supervisor from the D...