DEQ postpones temporary air rules on glass makers

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission voted to postpone instituting temporary rules relating to the air emissions glass companies emit.

The decision was announced at the end of a special meeting Tuesday afternoon at the downtown Portland office of the DEQ.

Many people agreed with that decision, and most who spoke at the public meeting stepped forward to ask the commission to not institute the temporary rule.

The commissioners discussed and then voted on proposed temporary rule changes specifically regarding air emissions from facilities that make colored glass, like Bullseye Glass and Uroboros Glass.

The proposed rules require companies to install filtration systems on all furnaces that use arsenic, cadmium, chromium and nickel. Those devices need to have a 99% removal efficiency for particulate matter and must be tested a couple months after they begin operating.

Bullseye Glass has already submitted a notice of intent to construct a filtration system, called a ‘bag house,’ which the DEQ has approved.

Eleven Oregon lawmakers, including House Speaker Tina Kotek, says the public needs to be more involved in this process. The lawmakers want the public to have at least 2 weeks to review and provide feedback on the proposed rules.

Bullseye Glass agrees with that, saying through a spokesman that the current proposal is “rushed, sloppy and based more on politics than the public interest.”

Bullseye Glass and other manufacturers have come under fire recently after high levels of cadmium and arsenic were found in the air in Portland. Soil samples show a low risk for residents.