# @chapelboronews on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DFLRvvRPz_2
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/26150360-chapelboronews-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/f3f3bc0bba.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-01-23T17:18:23.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Chapelboro.com (@chapelboronews) — https://gondola.cc/chapelboronews

## Caption

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 Division of Air Quality’s Mooresville Regional Office. She was joined at the desk by director of public affairs Sam Chan and environmental justice coordinators Corey Williams and Paige Azzarita from the DEQ, as well as deputy director Taylor Hartsfield, public information officer Shawn Taylor, and permitting section chief Mark Cuilla from the DAQ.

Nearly every seat in the room was occupied, and even the overflow room began to fill up. Speakers gave three-minute speeches one after another for more than two and a half hours. 

While the speakers varied widely in tone and reasoning, they all spoke against the plant and voiced concerns over its effects on the local environment and the residents of nearby communities. 

You can find the full story on Chapelboro.com.
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#cogeneration #pfas #coalburning #environment #UNC #ChapelHill

## Stats

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- **Likes:** 140
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- **Comments:** 2

## Tags

coalburning, chapelhill, environment, pfas, unc, cogeneration

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